


Running Wild

by fxbricxtedrexlity



Category: Fifth Harmony (Band), Real Person Fiction
Genre: F/F, Girl Penis, Slow Burn, Werewolf!Dinah, ally's their pack mom even though she's a human lol, alpha camila, but she's soft for lauren, but there's no smut yet, g!p camila, g!p dinah, havent rated it tho but there will be smut later on i guess, human!lauren, human!normani, i rated it to explicit lol, i'll put a warning when the sin starts, maybe dinah too idk, please bear with me, socially reclusive camila too, srsly i just wanted a g!p and werewolf camila, werewolf!camila
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-18
Updated: 2018-07-25
Packaged: 2019-05-08 12:03:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 26,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14693832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fxbricxtedrexlity/pseuds/fxbricxtedrexlity
Summary: “I’m Lauren. Can you give me a hug?” She asked, the alcohol making her tongue feel heavy.The wolf crinkled its nose. Lauren thinks it smelled her alcohol breath, but she was feeling playful so she blew another bout of air to the wolf’s face.It growled.akathe alpha werewolf camila gets too attached to a drunk lauren. mostly fluff and domestic camren but dundundunnn it takes a lot of time before lauren can convince camila to shift into her human form (think about how impaired their communication is, i got giggly writing the first chap lol)camila g!p and now dinah, too!!





	1. twisted side of a fairytale

**Author's Note:**

> just a little bit of head's up:
> 
> 1) this is a camila g!p and she's a werewolf fanfic so if you don't want that kind of content, please continue browsing for other fics other than this, thanks.
> 
> 2) lauren thinks camila's a guy the first few chaps coz of her dick and all, and camila doesn't shift so she can't correct lauren
> 
> 3) i made my own version of the werewolf universe too so here we go. only alphas (pure blood werewolves) and pure blood beta wolves (those born as werewolves, not turned) can full shift. camila and dinah in this case, respectively. there are those called the beta-shifters where there's an increase in hair, fangs, eyes shift color to blue (since they're beta, alpha's are red) but they're only mildly tackled here since this is a camren-centric thing.
> 
> 4) i was thinking of making this as pure fluff with a slow burn from the smut, it's part of the plot (if there's one huehuheuheue)
> 
> 5) this fic belongs to me. any hoping for conversions or permission to post this on different websites are NOT ALLOWED WITHOUT MY EXPLICIT PERMISSION FOR YOU TO DO SO. i dont like my shit stolen, srsly
> 
> 6) this was not proof-read or beta'd whatever it is, i just farted this out, honestly, so tell me if there are wrong spellings and shit, thanks
> 
> 7) that's all, i guess? have fun reading

It’s a giant dog.

Lauren tried to blink back the haze of alcohol and pushing it to the back of her brain to make sense of what was happening. It only helped to increase her impending headache. Like she took the pounding bass from the club to the inside of her brain.

She’s seen werewolves here and there, their existence weren’t too much of a secret for over a century now and humans have learned to co-exist with them. In her drunk state, Lauren tried to remember the phrase they taught elementary kids. Something about when seeing a were, don’t run, walk back gently with care...or something like that.

So she does the exact opposite. Obviously.

Squatting on the sidewalk, the wolf towers over Lauren but she holds a hand out, letting a wet nose rest on it before the wolf retreated its head back a few inches.

“I’m Lauren. Can you give me a hug?” She asked, the alcohol making her tongue feel heavy.

The wolf crinkled its nose. Lauren thinks it smelled her alcohol breath, but she was feeling playful so she blew another bout of air to the wolf’s face.

It growled.

All low and grumbly that took Lauren by shock, sobering up immediately.

“Fuck.” The wolf took a few steps forward, looking down at Lauren and—woah, okay, wolfy’s crotch is right there. “Down, boy,” she tries, scooting back to put more distance between her and the beast.

But another bout of a low growl emanated from the dark brown wolf, it’s eyes flashing red for a minute before it took a few steps forward again.

Lauren feels disconnected from her body.

A warm breath passes over her face, the wolf seemingly looking into her eye and saying “stay still and don’t do anymore stupid shit”. And then there was a large wolf rubbing its face all over her neck and Lauren feels her blood pump fast, knowing that this beast can turn his head, open his jaw, and kill her in an instant.

There’s something cold, wet, and rough. She belatedly realized that it was the wolf’s tongue.

(She wouldn’t admit to anyone that she felt aroused because of that but to be fair, she was a total sucker for neck kisses.)

She comes to when the wolf nudges lower, passing a breast and making her shiver. The wolf sinks its head to the crook of Lauren’s arms, right under her pits, lifting its head and—oh, it’s trying to help Lauren stand.

She does so on shaky legs, the wolf turning and pressing its nose against Lauren’s back as she tries to make sense of the sudden elevation of her head, steadying her.

There walking now, the wolf’s tail hitting her leg as it walked a few paces in front of Lauren but never too far—she can still feel the wolf’s body heat from where it was barely pressed up against her waist—always turning its head a few times a minutes as if checking if Lauren was still walking normally.

They end up at Lauren’s apartment complex—thank God she has the apartment on the ground floor—the wolf sitting on its hind legs at the sidewalk, letting out a huff when Lauren used its head as a rest for her bag as she fished inside it, but didn’t make another sound.

Unlocking her front door, Lauren does not know the proper werewolf etiquette, but letting the wolf inside her space when she’s barely keeping herself upright? It’s probably what she shouldn’t do.

Probably.

“Hey,” she says, nudging the door open with her hip. “want to come in?”

Apparently, drunk Lauren doesn’t care if it’s a huge wolf. All drunk Lauren can see is a big, cuddly dog.

She leaves the door open wide, beelining for the kitchen as she drinks water in an attempt to wash down the alcohol and keeping an eye on the front door.

The wolf takes a few steps inside, lifting its head to open its mouth, letting its tongue out, scenting the air.

It makes Lauren feel a little worried, like “what if it smells my two-day neglected laundry?” or the piece of apple she hadn’t bothered to pick up from the kitchen floor, instead, opting to kick it under the fridge and hope for the best.

The wolf then circled the living room, growling low when Lauren tried to follow. “Okay, okay, leave you to your wolf thing, got it.”

And then the wolf walked away.

Out of the front door and blended in the dark.

Honestly? Lauren’s surprised that she even locked the door before she passed out face down at the middle of her couch.

//

Lauren wakes up to a headache and a sticky feeling on her neck before remembering that a wolf licked her neck the night before.

She doesn’t have the super sense wolves have but even after her shower, Lauren was positive she still smells like the wolf.

And what if Lauren’s been waiting for the wolf to show up? It’s not everyday a wolf takes care of a drunk ass, so.

//

Lauren sees the wolf again the next weekend. Just as she stumbled out of the bar and into the cold air, chilling her arms as it wrapped around Normani.

She’s drunk again. Nice. She wonders if this is a thing that the wolf picks her up when she’s drunk.

Wolfy—as Lauren affectionately calls the wolf inside her head—is sitting on the sidewalk, looking bored but apprehensive of the stranger next to Lauren.

“Shit,” she hears Normani say near her ear, muttering something about a taser and not enough streetlights as Lauren twists out of her arms, and non-to-gently plopping against the wolf’s side. “Lauren! Get back here!” Normani whisper-yells, too afraid to come near as the wolf eyed her.

“Mani! This is Wolfy,” she slurred, hearing the wolf huff out again as it got a whiff of her alcohol breath once more. “He found me when I was walking home from Lucy’s birthday party!”

“I know, Laur, I was supposed to take you home but you disappeared.” Normani flinches as the wolf’s tongue comes out to lick its chops, remembering that her best friend is currently plastered to the wolf’s side. “Come on now, honey, let’s not disturb this kind wolf any more.”

She tries to tug Lauren but she just sinks further down to dark brown fur. “‘m too comfy,” Lauren says, clutching at whatever fur she can get her hands wrapped on, sinking to her knees to the sidewalk as she dangles from the wolf’s neck.

Normani pries her hands off, noting the way the wolf’s eyes stays on her, a low growl rumbling off its chest and taking a step towards her as she successfully takes Lauren in her arms.

“I’m going to grab us a cab,” she informs the were slowly, hoping her voice doesn’t betray how mildly scared she is now that Lauren is content with nuzzling her arm and the wolf eyes the exchange with the littlest baring of teeth. “You can, I don’t know, run with the cab, I guess?”

Wolfy huffs its assent after a few more moments of staring at her best friend, huffing once again to hurry Normani along in getting a cab. “Okay, okay, geez,” she mutters under her breath, cursing Lauren for managing to attach a werewolf to her, and a full-shift one at that.

Lauren dozes off for the most part of the drive, the wolf swimming in and out of Normani’s peripheral as it ran with the cab in L.A.’s 2AM traffic.

It’s sitting beside the front door of Lauren’s apartment, mouth opened and panting slightly.

Lauren, bless her soul, looked a lot less drunk and veering more into the hungover side of things, finally regained her bearings after the quick nap at the cab and was smiling sheepishly at the wolf.

(Normani took it upon herself to both tease and grill her best friend when she’s a lot less drunk and without a canine companion stuck to her side.)

“Thanks for taking me home, Mani,” Lauren says, twisting the door open and nudging it wide, looking at the wolf with a raised brow posed with a question until it goes inside of her apartment. Normani’s own eyebrows raises at that.

“Wow,” she says while blowing out a breath. “You just totally invited a wolf into your house, Laur, what the fuck?” Normani says quickly and quietly, still aware of a werewolf’s enhanced hearing. “Do you need me to stay and make sure nothing happens to you?”

Lauren looks sheepish, eyes darting to her door for a beat. “It’s cool, I invited Wolfy over last time and it just did it’s wolf smelling thing and went outside again.” Normani feels like she’ll pass out soon. “Hey, don’t worry,” Lauren tries—and sort of fails—to reassure her best friend. “, I’ve got it covered.”

With a long five minutes of Normani insisting that Lauren call her at the first sign of trouble and Lauren agreeing to everything she says, they hug as Normani hails down another cab.

//

The wolf sits by the fridge, looking scolding and pointedly at Lauren as it sinks in her mind that the wolf actually looks unimpressed with her current state. It huffs, nose pointing towards the sink until Lauren gets it.

“Alright, alright, I get it,” she sighs, taking a glass and pouring water for herself. “Do you want some too?” Even though Lauren asked, she went ahead and got a bowl anyway, filling it with water and placing it by her feet.

They drink together in accompanied silence, Lauren drinking another two glasses of her own in hopes of flushing out the alcohol in her system. Tiny drops of water litter the floor from where it splashed out of the wolf’s bowl, cooling Lauren’s aching feet considerably as she chucks out of her heels, hitting a cabinet with two dull thuds.

She maneuvers out of the kitchen and near the front door, holding it wide open for the wolf. It just stared back at her.

Lauren shrugs, locks the door, and went to her bedroom, feeling the wolf follow her inside as it plops down on the rectangular carpet at the foot of Lauren’s bed.

“Did you pick up your bowl?” She asked, from inside her closet, the door pulled closed but not all the way as she changes out of her night clothes and into sweats and a shirt. “You need to clean up after yourself, you know.”

She hears a huff, the unmistakable sound of a tail hitting against Lauren’s bedroom door and the door jamb, and then a loud clang near the sink in a way that makes her pull hurriedly down at the hem of her shirt, hair still underneath her top as she dashes into the kitchen.

The bowl the wolf used is now in the sink, under the water of the open faucet. Lauren glares at the culprit sitting on the other side of the kitchen, tail swishing behind it in semi-regular intervals.

Lauren swears she sees the hint of a smirk under all the fur.

“Okay, smartass,” she says turning off the faucet and leaving it to wash tomorrow morning. “I’m five seconds away from passing out so make the choice if you’re staying over or if you going to prowl in the darkness.”

Wolfy blows out a breath that sounds too suspiciously close to a snort that Lauren rolls her eyes.

She does it again until she feels a dull ache at the back of her head with how hard she rolled her eyes when the wolf made a show of circling the carpet at the foot of her bed and plopping down noisily.

The last thing Lauren sees is the wolf’s mouth wide open, yawning loudly, ears patting down to its head and twitching once as it settles down.

She ponders about how the wolf could have her bleeding in her bedroom floor with a snap of its powerful jaw in just a second. But then she realizes that the wolf stayed to take care of her while she’s inebriated.

Lauren takes her chances and pats the wolf’s head for a bit before it huffs it’s indignant, snapping its teeth once in an attempt to intimidate Lauren.

She just laughs.


	2. well that suds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> laurmani broship goals, more camren fluff, and a beta appearance (heh, puns)
> 
> this is not proofread and unbeta’d once more, and im posting this while in class, so sue me, im using my phone and updating
> 
> enjoy!

Lauren woke up—face down with an arm dangling off the side of the bed—to something nudging her palm.

She smacks her lips together, vaguely cringing at what probably her worst morning breath, before she notices the wolf patiently sitting at the side of her bed.

“‘times it?” she croaks out, voice raspy and doused with sleep.

Her companion just twitches its right ear, nose pointing to the lit up phone on the bedside. Lauren hadn’t even heard it vibrate.

It’s 10AM and Normani’s leaving an onslaught of messages and missed calls. Fuck.

“Hey Mani,” she greets, sliding off under the covers as the wolf stands up, its nails making a pit-patter sound against the wooden floor, beelining to the door and waiting for Lauren to open it.

“Don’t you ‘hey Mani’ me, miss. Do you know close I was to calling the cops?” Normani shrieks to the phone. Lauren could almost hear her pacing.

“Why call the cops?” She asks around a yawn, dragging her feet to the kitchen, and then picking up a glass for herself before looking at the dog. Shrugging, Lauren picked up the bowl at the sink, rinsed it with running water before filling it up and setting it by her feet.

Wolfy huffs out a breath—like it always does, Lauren notes—dipping its nose to the water before nudging Lauren’s leg with its wet snout.

Normani gets alarmed with the surprised shriek her best friend lets out and immediately stops pacing, pressing the phone firmer against her ear as she struggles to hear what’s happening on the other side.

“Laur, what was that?” she asks, halfway to picking up her bag and keys.

There’s a muffled sound of the water running and then a giggle. Lauren fucking giggled. Normani’s suddenly worried.

“Lo?” she urged.

“Mani, yeah, I’m still here—hey! Don’t shake the water in the living room—oh my god,” Lauren sighs, looking at the water droplets on the floor and on one side of her couch. “That’s it, mister, out you go.”

Normani finally pieces together what’s happening at her best friend’s apartment. “The wolf’s still there?” She nearly shouts, deciding to go over to Lauren’s.

“Uh, yeah,” Lauren sounds distracted. There’s a sound of the door opening and then closes. “I’m alone now, he just left.”

“Pick up your tits. We’re going out for brunch.” And then Normani hangs up as her car door shuts.

//

There’s a lull in their conversation, Lauren feeling properly chastised and Normani feeling slightly bad for going off on her best friend.

(“How can you spend the night with a clearly rogue, alpha werewolf?!”

“Mani, I’m fine.”

“But what if you aren’t? What if instead of us having brunch right now, I could’ve been talking to your mangled parts?”

“You’re overreacting. Eat your damn eggs.”)

Lauren fiddles with her cup, swirling the coffee in it around for a bit. She sighs. “I’m sorry, Mani. I know you’re just worried.”

Normani’s stoic face suddenly crumpled when she saw her best friend, fingers tearing little pieces of napkin and looking small in her seat.

“I’m sorry too. But that wolf,” she trails off. “, just be careful, okay?”

“I will.”

“So what happened last night?”

The question brought a smile to Lauren’s face. “He was surprisingly playful,” she offered, fingers fiddling with the mess she made on the table.

“Playful?” Skepticism laced Normani’s voice, unable to picture a big werewolf being playful.

“Yeah, like when I gave him water from a bowl, I asked him to pick it up and when I looked at the sink, he just literally dumped it in and left the faucet running.” Hands moving as she told the story. “And then this morning when we were drinking water, he let water drip down my legs. So I tried to get back by splashing him water but a side of my couch and the floor payed the price.” 

“Yeah, yeah, I was on the phone with you on that one.” Normani was amused, the scene making sense and playing inside her head.

Lauren continues to ramble on. “It’s crazy. I mean it’s like he’s got his own sense of humor or something,” she says, laughing around a spoonful of pancake.

Normani was suddenly alarmed. “Wait, Laur, you do remember that it’s a werewolf, right?” The green eyed girl was still coming down from her laughing fit, tilting her head to the side, eyebrow raised as if posing a question. “That wolf’s somehow part human. Please tell me you remember that they can shift.”

Well, the thing is, Lauren did forget.

“Shit,” she blows out a breath, slumping against the back of her chair. “I just let a werewolf get close to me.”

A reflexive duh is at the tip of Normani’s tongue but when she sees how genuinely upset Lauren at the sudden turn of events, she reels it in, cooing at her best friend instead. “Honey, you can just ask him next time, you know?”

“How?” Lauren asks, all scrunched up eyebrows and worried bottom lip.

Normani shurgs. “Ask him to shift, I guess?”

Lauren slumped in her seat. “I’ll try.”

//

She ends up googling a lot of werewolves fact the rest of the weekend.

When Lauren finally reached the part of the internet that’s very informative about a wolf’s anatomy—oh my god, they did it in the woods—she shuts her laptop down and pushes it so far from her as she wills her face to cool down.

That’s enough research for the night, she guesses.

//

It’s a wednesday. Lauren’s pulling up on her parking spot at the basement of her apartment complex.

She’s got one arm with her work bag, a few folders tucked under her arm, phone in hand alongside her tumbler, while the other fishes inside her bag for her house keys.

See? She often prides herself with her not-so-useless talent of being able to hold more than one object in her hand. Take that, Normani.

So when she looks up to see a cozy looking wolf draped on her “home is where the pants aren’t” welcome mat, Lauren almost drops everything she’s carrying.

Almost.

The wolf rises its head from where it was resting against the mat, looking amused at the flustered looking human before it.

Lauren clears her throat, continuing to her door, having to reach the door knob. The wolf fixes its position of laying between Lauren and the door, looking positively amused at Lauren’s glare.

“Having fun, aren’t you?” she huffs, turning her set of double locks and pushing the door aside. The wolf rises to its feet, tail hitting Lauren’s leg once as it trots inside, looking smug. “Let yourself in, why don’t you?” Rolling her eyes, Lauren drops her keys and bag by the door, spilling the folders on her counter to be taken care of later.

She sees the wolf sniff the couch for a bit, before hopping over it and laying down, one paw touching the ground. It looks like the poster picture for a sleezy craigslist roommate warning ad.

Heading to her bedroom, Lauren makes true of her welcome mat, changing into the most comfortable pair of shorts and a tank she could get her hands on, cleaning her face off her make up before going back to the living room.

“I’m assuming you’re staying for dinner?” she asks, already dialing to the Thai place she loves. All she got is an uptick to the beat of the wolf’s tail swishing against the couch and an ear perking up. “You just love getting anything, don’t you?” Lauren deadpans, hanging up her phone and moving towards the living room.

“Scoot,” she all but commands, using one side of the remote to poke against the wolf’s leg. “I still got three episodes into Orphan Black’s season four and I want to finish it tonight.”

Wolfy huffs again, but rises enough to make room for Lauren on one side of the couch. As it settles against one arm of the couch, the wolf abruptly jumps up and to the floor, the couch in between it and Lauren.

The woman just shrieked. 

“Oh my god,” Lauren starts. “, oh my god.” And just when the werewolf thinks the human finally short-circuited, she continues. “That’s it. You’re taking a bath.”

Lauren looks at the paw marks and an unmistakable grease stain at the back of her couch, glaring at the culprit who’s eyes look wider than it usually is.

“Bathroom, mister,” Lauren points towards the bathroom, staring pointedly at the wolf. There was a low growl, an answer of defiance to Lauren, before she raises and eyebrow and the wolf hangs its head down, huffing all the way to the bathroom.

“You made a show of opening faucets the other night,” Lauren shouts to the general direction of the bathroom. “, I want to see you in the tub with the water running or I’ll take half of your food.”

She grins to herself when she hears the water running.

“Now,” she says to herself, pulling her hair into a bun. “, time to call the cleaners for this, I guess.”

//

The cleaners, surprisingly, was still open when Lauren called and was supposed to be at her apartment in an hour.

Finishing dragging her couch out the front—thank god she lived on the first floor—she met the delivery guy just in time.

Dumping the containers of mouth-watering Thai food on the counter, Lauren heads to the bathroom to wash off her hands. There she sees the wolf with its head rested against the side of the tub, looking unamused as Lauren laughed at its wet fur.

One look at the tub water and Lauren sighs. “No wonder the couch got so messy,” pulling the stopper at the tub to drain it, Lauren turns on the shower head and detaches it from its rack. “Time to get clean, mister.”

//

After an impromptu bubble war and a change of clothes later, Lauren dries the wolf with both a towel and her blowdryer.

(“It’s either you use the blowdryer or airdry it. But I’m not letting you prowl my house wet and I’m fucking starving so sit your ass down and focus on fluffing up your fur.)

She stacks her portion of the meal on a plate and snatching a pizza tray for where she puts the wolf’s. Taking hers to the coffee table and setting the tray at the floor, she fetches some water for them.

The wolf huffs at his plate on the floor, but Lauren just laughs at the fluffy state of its fur.

“Aww look at you,” she coos, ruffling up the wolf’s fur further as she plops down on the floor. “This is your fault, by the way. The cleaners will be here soon to pick the couch up, should be back after a couple of days.”

They eat in silence, Tatiana Maslany’s badassery on the screen. There’s the occasional bumping of the wolf’s tail against Lauren’s lower back but other than that and the setting sun hitting the floorboards just right, Lauren feels pretty content.

She hears her phone vibrate and sees that Normani sent her a picture of the new handbag she thinks Lauren would like.

And then it hits her. The conversation she had with her best friend.

Lauren fiddles with her fingers, cleaning up their dishes to put some distance between her and the wolf.

Rinsing the dishes and loading up the dishwasher, Lauren leans against the counter, the wolf gazing up at her. Lauren probably missed the rest of the episode. Thank god for in-demand.

“Can I ask you something?” she starts, high-fiving herself mentally as the wolf sits up, eyes on her and ears perked up. “You’re a werewolf, right? Which means you’re still part human, or whatever.” She rambles, failing to see the change in expression to the wolf. “And this has been fun and all, but do you think that maybe you could shift? For me? Like, have a proper conversation?”

Lauren worries at her bottom lip, watching as the wolf rising up its feet. At first she thought that she got through, that the wolf’s shifting.

But then its ears perked up and a horn honked outside, someone knocking on her door.

“Excuse me, we’re looking for a, uhm, Lauren Jau-rey-gi?” the man asked as Lauren opened the door.

“It’s Jauregui,” she corrects, pointing to the couch on the lawn. “That’s the couch, right there.”

“We just need you to sign these, ma’am,” he said, handing Lauren a clipboard and hollering for his buddy to load the couch. “Thanks, you’ll have ‘er back in two days, have a good night!”

There’s a sudden noise from behind her back as Lauren watches the truck go, turning around to see her door open, and a dark blur running to the distance.

//

It’s been two weeks.

Normani told her that its probably a sensitive topic for the wolf.

(“You do know that hunters are still a thing, right? Even if it’s been more than a hundred years since wolves came out?”

“What—well, I,” Lauren blows out a breath, deflating. “I haven’t thought of that.”)

Yeah, Lauren felt shitty after that.

“Then why me?” she asks her steering wheel, turning and pulling up at her parking spot.

Lauren thinks it’s going to be a thing, now. She comes home from work, juggling too many things at the same time, and sees a wolf cozying it up to her welcome mat.

But it’s not Wolfy.

This one’s a light brown wolf, blue eyes flashing once at Lauren before it stands, standing aside the door and cocking its head to the door.

Lauren snorts. “Does being bossy come with being a werewolf?” She opens her door with much force than necessary, feeling the wolf follow her inside. Oh god, she can almost hear Normani’s affronted gasp.

Head bent down to rid of her heels, Lauren looks up when she hears a laugh.

“No wonder Chancho likes you,” the blonde werewolf—woman—says, standing at Lauren’s living room, naked as the day she was born. “Hi, Lauren, my name’s Dinah Jane, and I think this is a two-weeks-too-late of a visit, don’t you think?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comment down below if you have ideas on what can camren do (activities, places to go, and what not)
> 
> also, ive been thinking of choosing either miami as the setting or should i do a california one like teen wolf? whacha think?
> 
> hmu!  
> wattpad and tumblr: fxbrixted-rexlity
> 
> have a good one!


	3. opening up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dinah's explosive personality, ally's cute self, and (subtle) possesive!camila + shifting (??)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks to this https://youtu.be/T46-g35UhMI for helping me fart out this chapter ohmygod
> 
> hi guys omg im so sorry!!
> 
> im gonna explain why this chapter has been late(-ish). so last week i’ve got national level exams and on top of the extra summer classes i took (like summer camp but it’s a class for 8 hours) and i’ve been planning my 18th birthday on top of that ughhhhh i didnt think it’ll be THAT stressful BUT ANYWAY!! here you goooo
> 
> ALSO!!! G!P DINAH!!!

There’s an afghan at the back of her couch. Lauren’s eyes focus on that instead, sprinting across the room and throwing the fabric at the woman across from her.

 

“Cover yourself, geez,” she whines, feeling her face heat up. She did not need a reminder of how shifting can affect a werewolf’s anatomy—they can get hard, the adrenaline of bones shifting and muscles rearranging apparently shifts their brain in a fight or mate response, something Lauren read off a sleazy-looking, werewolf dedicated blog.

 

But even under the suddenness of everything regarding the were in front of Lauren, she’s able to classify the woman as a beta—a pureblood, in fact, if the dick in between her legs and the flashing of blue eyes earlier is any indication.

 

Her weekend research paid off.

 

She allows a mental pat to her back for that.

 

“As if you haven’t seen a woman with a dick before,” the werewolf teased, making a show of wrapping the afghan to her torso and holding the knot at the front, giving off a bohemian-ish dress vibe.

 

“Actually, I haven’t—“

 

“First thing about us, we’re really confident with ourselves,” Dinah Jane starts, eyeing her surrounding and nose twitching. Lauren watches as she stalks around the living room, sniffing away. “Yeah, Walz have been here recently,” with Lauren’s inquisitive raised eyebrow, she clarifies. “Scent. That wolf scent marked your whole house, kinda like how you see dogs pee on their territory to stake claim.”

 

Lauren’s head feels fuzzy. “Wait Wolfy marked—okay, first of all? How are you related? And why are you here?”

 

Dinah’s eyes positively gleams. “Wolfy? You call Walz Wolfy?” she grins around the words, rolling on the balls of her feet in utter glee.

 

It has Lauren confused. She’s tired of the woman going off in her own tangent, unaware of the increasing curiosity brewing behind Lauren’s green eyes. “Are Walz and Chancho the same person as Wolfy?” she asks, clearing her throat after Dinah’s eager nod. “Then yeah, what am I supposed to call him if he’s not talking to me like you are right now?”

 

“Him? Who’re you talking about?” Dinah Jane asks, stopping short in front of Lauren, eyes oddly suddenly focused on her.

 

“Wolfy,” there’s a _duh_ waiting at the tip of her tongue that Lauren holds back when Dinah gave her a raised eyebrow. And then it made sense. “, unless… _oh_.”

 

So that’s what the comment about woman and dicks earlier was about.

 

Dinah looks positively amused.

 

“Oh, you’re so precious,” she coos, moving towards the front door. “And while I assume you want to learn more about us or Chancho in general, I’m starving. You up for it? Dinner’s on me.”

 

Blonde hair swayed as Dinah opens the door and goes out, not waiting for Lauren as she picks up her bag and keys.

 

“Being bossy is definitely a werewolf trait,” she mumbles under her breath, locking the front door before taking the stairs to the basement parking.

 

“Lesson number two, werewolves have strong hearing.” the werewolf says, folding a leg up under herself and fiddling with the radio. Soon enough, Beyoncé’s opening vocals for _Love On Top_ comes on. “And lesson number three: we prefer the term assertive, rather than bossy,” she winks at Lauren before belting out the chorus and a hasty instruction to the general direction they’re suppose to head to.

 

Lauren just shakes her head and hums to the song.

 

//

 

There’s a quaint and homey looking diner just at the side of the road before the turn that leads to the national park with several cars parked at the front. The neon sign on the window flickers as Lauren hops off her car and Dinah sashays inside, afghan flapping behind her and a sunset overhead.

 

It’s dramatic and extra—and if you ask Lauren about how the past car ride was—it’s an exact representation of Dinah.

 

And there he— _she_ , Lauren corrects in her brain, suddenly feeling her face heat up—is. Sitting at the side of the door, looking straight at Lauren.

 

“So this is where you’ve been?” Lauren asks, stopping by the door, staring back.

 

The wolf huffs. Lauren feels her body heat up as the wolf circles around her closely, torso bumping against Lauren’s hip in a way that makes Lauren think back of what Dinah said earlier.

 

 _She’s scent marking me?_ The thought is broken as the wolf nods infinitesimally at her, pushing the door open with its head.

 

“Just how often are you here?” Lauren asks when no one inside bats an eye to the giant wolf walking in between tables, heading to a back booth where she can already see Dinah hollering for the wolf.

 

“She pretty much owns the place,” a voice pipes up behind Lauren, a short woman with dirty blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail smiles at her. She gestures an arm, waiting for Lauren to follow her to the booth. “My name’s Ally, I work here and am pretty much in charge with the two toddlers you got tangled up with. I’m technically you’re server for tonight but Dinah mentioned something about a… what did you call it again, D?”

 

Perking up, Dinah sits straighter in her seat, throwing a smirk across the booth to where the other wolf was sitting down. “A Camren intervention,” she grins, smugness written plainly on her face. Wolfy—Chancho or Walz, Lauren just wants to _know_ what the wolf’s name is—“, and it’s already working.”

 

“What’s a camren?” Lauren asks, deciding on which seat to take and rolls her eyes as Dinah dramatically stretches out on the other side before winking at her. Dinah ignores the question and Lauren pretends she isn’t surprised that the blonde did.

 

“See,” Dinah gestures widely to the general direction of Lauren and the wolf, grinning up at Ally. “, Camren, right there.”

 

“Okay, enough of that,” Ally tsks, taking off her jacket and making Dinah wear it. “You have clothes out back, get dressed, young lady.” Dinah huffs and flips her hair dramatically but does what she’s told. “Here are the menus, just holler at me if you need anything but I’ll be eating dinner with you since I’m about to have my break anyway.” And then there’s a short blonde hurricane tending around the diner, Ally fussing with every table before eventually slipping into the kitchen.

 

“So these are your friends, huh?” She asks, looking down at the wolf beside her that’s got its head rested to the table, blowing on a table mat with it’s nose. “Should I be prepared for Dinah?” And then suddenly the wolf picks up its head, nodding vigorously at her.

 

Half of the restaurant looked at Lauren when she laughed so loud, Dinah racing down the aisles and asking her to spill with what’s so funny, pouting in her chair when Lauren just smirked at her.

 

//

 

Lauren’s full on a lot of things at the moment.

 

Food, the feeling of having a great company, food, information about wolves, and did she say food?

 

Honestly, Ally just keeps on clearing their table and _then_ plopping a new on in front of Lauren. She can say that’s she’s about 80% on her way to a food coma right now.

 

But aside from the great food, Dinah’s explosive personality, Ally’s chiding and actually helpful insight on Dinah’s unusual tangents, and the silent companion beside her, Lauren’s honestly having a great time.

 

Looking beside her, Lauren sees the wolf already staring back. She looks sated, almost happy, with the way the wolf’s face looks more relaxed than what she’s used to with the past times Lauren can remember, ears folded back at the top of her head and perking up as Lauren just continued staring.

 

“Thank you for this,” she whispers between them, suddenly feeling shy when the wolf lowers its head to nudge her hand with its nose.

 

Deep brown eyes looks up at Lauren and she’s suddenly filled with the desire to make this wolf shift. To see the other half of this beast.

 

They both jump at the sound of Dinah squealing in front of them. “Camren is sailing, bitches!” she hollers, making a few heads turn in their direction and Ally shushing her down.

 

Lauren’s curiosity has peaked. “Can you _please_ explain on what a Camren is?”

 

Dinah grins. “Camila and Lauren. Cam plus Ren,” she gestures to the two occupants of the booth in front of her. “It’s your ship name.” Dinah finishes, looking overly proud of herself.

 

“Camila?” Lauren tastes the name on her tongue, remembering the way the name curls around her tongue and makes something click in her head, making her whole body tingle. “Your name’s Camila?”

 

When the wolf nods, eyes not leaving Lauren’s, she’s suddenly filled with _something_. Like warmth crawling its way from her mouth to her toes.

 

It feels _right_.

 

“Camila,” she tries again, the wolf looking at her amusedly. “Camila.” Lauren repeats, her mouth stretching in a grin.

 

“I think I broke her,” she hears Dinah say to Ally but Lauren’s too happy to care.

 

//

 

She’s shutting the passenger door down, locking her car and seeing Camila (Lauren says her name now with every chance she can and gets an eye roll and a nudge from the wolf) already halfway up the stairs a looking back expectantly at her.

 

“Bossy,” she mutters under her breath, knowing that Camila will hear it anyway. “And no getting inside my house if you’re not clean.” She snorts when Camila made a show of wiping her paws off on the welcome mat. “Smartass.”

 

Lauren sighs as she steps out of her heels, keys clinking against each other as she hangs it by the door. She feels soft fur against her calves and sees Camila looking up at her. “Heels are a bitch, especially after a long day. You’re lucky you get to be barefoot,” she teases, pouring herself a glass of water and getting some for her friend. “Pick it up when you’re done, please.”

 

Heading to the bathroom to clean up her face and change into her sleep clothes, Lauren comes out to see Camila looking at the couple of picture frames she’s got up on her nightstand.

 

The wolf noses at the pictures curiously, looking back at Lauren with a single raised ear, asking a silent question. “That’s my family. Chris and Taylor then my parents,” she explains, sitting at the edge of her bed as Camila sits down on her hind legs. “And that’s me and Mani, my best friend.”

 

Camila yawns, and Lauren jumps up back on her feet, dragging the carpet at the bottom of her bed to the side, smiling sheepishly at the wolf as it looks up at Lauren.

 

She almost blurts out _I had the sudden urge to keep you near me_ but Lauren holds it back.

 

They both settle down. Lauren’s kind of thankful at the moment that Camila chooses to be a wolf around her. At least she won’t get teased as she lays down on her stomach, dropping a hand down the edge of the bed to rest it against Camila’s fur.

 

“‘night Camz,” she yawns, giving in to exhaustion of the day as she felt a lick on the back of her palm.

 

//

 

Lauren jolts awake when she hears her alarm the next morning.

 

She’s dizzy, head hurting from the lack of sleep and disoriented from getting up so fast that she didn’t remember the wolf sleeping next to her bed.

 

Camila woke up to Lauren stepping on her tail, yelping as she backs up to the wall and looking up at the human.

 

“Shit,” Lauren swears, dropping to her knees in front of Camila. “Shit, Camz, I’m sorry, I forgot you’re here,” she trips over her words, looking positively half-awake and out of it. “Does it hurt? Do you need me to get Ally?”

 

Camila huffs, standing up and swatting her tail over Lauren’s worried face and heads over the door, looking expectantly back at the human. Lauren lets out a breath. “Okay, okay,” she concedes, standing up and opening the door. “I’m just worried if I broke your tail or something.”

 

In the kitchen, Lauren starts freaking out again when she saw the time. “Shit, I have to get to work soon, uh,” she looks around her kitchen, looking for something to whip up as breakfast. Her eyes fall on a bunch of bananas at the counter so she takes one for herself and then peels two more and puts it on a plate for Camila, along with a bowl of water. “I’ll take a shower now, and I promise real food later, but bear with me.”

 

When she’s ready to go, Lauren only looks back at Camila once, seeing the wolf lounging on her living room carpet. “You’re staying?” she asks, and when she only receives a long look, Lauren shuts the door after her, not taking a chance on Camila leaving again.

 

//

 

She stretches, feeling her bones popping back in place and muscles ache dully with the shift. Camila looks down at her toes and figures that she should get her toe nails cut soon.

 

There’s something different with seeing Lauren’s place in her human height, like putting it in a different light.

 

Shifting makes Camila’s senses duller, not quite as great when she’s shifted but there’s still perks of being a human. Like peeling a banana, for example.

 

She gets a couple more from the bunch, looking around the place curiously . There’s four different scents that made her curious last night, four different people that mostly means they’re close to Lauren.

 

One of them is Dinah. Her beta’s scent covering the majority of the afghan tossed at the couch.

 

Another one of the scents smells suspiciously close to Lauren’s, so Camila rules that out as a family member.

 

That leaves her to two.

 

Another scent is strong at a note card by the TV.

 

_Happy 22nd Lo_

_Sorry I couldn’t make it, but I’ll make it up to you_

_Name the place, I’ll make it happen_

 

_xx Mani_

 

The best friend, Camila files away in her head. So that’s three down, one more to go.

 

She throws away the peels, scenting her way around the apartment to look for the last scent.

 

It’s at Lauren’s bedroom. In her closet, to be exact. There’s a couple of shirts that stinks of the scent, making Camila scrunch her nose up. She picks a couple of shirts up, noting the old scent—meaning the owner wasn’t near in a month or so and that Lauren also hasn’t worn it—and it’s a guy’s shirt.

 

A growl rumbles its way from her chest, clutching the shirt tighter and forcing her wolf’s voice back.

 

 _Someone wants her. Claim her before he can—she’s yours, she’s mate_.

 

But Camila breathes out. The old scent leaving her lungs and controlling herself by not shredding the fabric in her hands to shreds.

 

She leaves the bedroom, heading to the kitchen and opening up cabinets to look for something to cook. She’s hungry and Lauren will be home in six more hours. Camila thinks she’ll die of starvation before the woman comes home.

 

Camila starts cooking, taking note of the hours before she has to shift back. As much as she wants to finally hold Lauren in her arms—as much as how much Lauren smells like _mate_ —she still needs to be careful, no matter how eager her wolf is to claim.

 

 _And besides,_ Camila thinks, _I still need to make sure no one gets close to Lauren like that. She’s mine._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this has mostly been a filler chapter since i wanna introduce a bunch of characters, more plot twists and shit like that and also to help you if you guys want to give me prompts revolving this universe
> 
> i'm bumping the rating to explicit, because we all know where this is headed lol (except no beastiality. not here, anyway)
> 
> HIT ME UP WITH PROMPTS OVER AT MY TUMBLR ACC: fxbricxted-rexlity
> 
> so that’s it for me. i posted this over at my wattpad acc: fxbricxted-rexlity so check it out and leave a vote pls thanks <3
> 
> thanks for reading and have a good one!!


	4. brush your teeth before going to bed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it’s embarrassing how many drafts i have because i’ve got like 13345797423098 ways for just ONE chapter to head to EVERY DAMN TIME it ain’t even funny ohmygod
> 
> i wanted to bump start the norminah, ot5 relationship, and emphasize on laur's past relationship and how it can affect camren sooooo i gave birth to this chapter, i hope u enjoy it

Lauren feels like she’s falling.

 

She feels her body hit something warm and soft, something moving underneath her, but she’s too exhausted to even lift her eyes open.

 

She falls back asleep.

 

//

 

Normani couldn’t believe what she’s seeing.

 

When Lauren asked to meet up for another Sunday brunch earlier in the week when Lauren called her to catch up:

 

(“It’s fucking labor day after day, Mani, I’m _tired_.”

 

“Okay, Lo, because writing for an newspaper article is _so_ tiresome.”

 

“Bitch. You don’t know how my boss works. And you do remember that I also write for the online blog, right?”

 

“Okay, Ms. Political Rants, 10AM this Sunday, then?”)

 

The older woman didn’t expect her best friend to ditch her _and_ not pick up her multiple missed calls when Lauren was late to picking her up.

 

She also didn’t expect to find her best friend still asleep, dead to the world, at 1PM on a _Sunday_ when Normani let herself in with the spare key Lauren keeps taped on top of the door jamb.

 

So that’s how Normani saw her best friend, sleeping on the floor, and on top of a dark brown werewolf who’s staring at Normani dead on with a clear look that says _help me_.

 

“Oh my god,” Normani huffs, dropping her bag by Lauren’s bedroom door, rolling up her sleeves and chucking her heels to the side. She comes near, sees the drool dripping off of her best friend and matting the wolf’s fur. Normani visibly cringes. This is _so_ not one of Lauren’s finest moments. “Let’s get you out of under there, yeah buddy?”

 

Camila blows out a breath. She’s been wanting to use the bathroom for two hours now.

 

But she also could’ve easily thrown the human to the ground if she rolled over.

 

And maybe she doesn’t want to give up Lauren’s weight and heat pressed up against her, snuggling closer at every shift Camila does when she tried to get away. But that was like three hours ago, so.

 

“Come on, Lo,” Normani groans, hooking both arms under her best friend’s armpits, hauling her up. She feels Lauren stir slightly, the wolf under her pushing upwards to help Normani. “Sweetheart, you gotta wake up sometime this century, come on.”

 

She props Lauren up against the side of the bed, watching the dark wolf slink from under Lauren and stretch its body near the door before it disappeared to somewhere inside of the apartment.

 

She hears a door close, and then the unmistakable sound of a toilet flushing. _Smart_ , Normani thought.

 

“Mani?” Lauren croaked out, her limbs feeling heavy and body feeling warm from her sleep. “What’re you doing here?”

 

Normani rolls her eyes but she reaches for the glass of water Lauren keeps on her bedside table and handing it over to her best friend, leaning back against the side of the bed as she sits next to Lauren. “Brunch, remember?”

 

Lauren’s eyes widens. “Oh shit, Mani, I’m so _sorry_ ,” Lauren quickly stands up, rushing over to her closet. “I can get ready in like ten minutes, then we can go.”

 

“Laur, it’s fine,” Normani laughs, watching her best friend run back and fro from her closet, murmuring different pieces of clothing under her breath.

 

“No, I swear, we’ll have like a late lunch, just wait for me.”

 

Lauren exits her bedroom, sees Camila sitting at the end of the hallway, tail thumping at odd intervals by the apartment floor. The wolf turns its head to the side, a light going off on Lauren’s head.

 

“Shit you’re—Mani!” she calls out to her best friend, leaving the bathroom door open for her voice to carry out into the apartment. “Can you give Camz water and something to eat? There’s a dog bowl by the rack and leftover pizza in the fridge.”

 

Normani raises an eyebrow, follows the wolf into the kitchen as it sits in the middle, looking up at Normani.

 

She swears she sees a smile.

 

“So,” she starts, heating the last two slices of pizza left in the box, leaning against the counter and watching as the wolf drink up. “, you’re Camz?”

 

The microwave dings, the sound of Lauren’s shower carrying all the way to the kitchen, and the wolf’s tail hitting the counter cabinets in uneven beats.

 

Normani’s voice hardens. “I know you’re still human, _somehow_ ,” she says, placing the pizza by the wolf. “, and I’m sure you know that Lauren trusts you, immensely. Enough for her to turn her back to you when she’s asleep.” Normani breathes in, wary of the way that Lauren turns off the shower, cabinets opening and closing inside the bathroom. “And I swear, if you so much as _hurt_ her or use her trust against her, I won’t hesitate to do the same to you.”

 

Lauren skids along the floor, hearing her best friend talking with the wolf but not understanding a word. She sees Normani looking at Camila, the wolf giving a nod as she stares back at her best friend.

 

“Did I miss something?” she asks, noticing the weird mood in the kitchen.

 

Normani, satisfied for the mean time, smiles at her best friend. “Nothing, just talking to _Camz_?”, she finishes with a question lacing her words and Lauren tries not to face palm—the point of their brunch is to fill her best friend in on what happened in the past week that Camila’s been back.

 

“I’m getting to that,” Lauren says, lacing up her boots by the door, an idea forming in her head. “And is it alright if she tags along? There’s a new place to eat that I want to take you to.”

 

//

 

Dinah’s waiting by the side of the road by the time Camila’s scent reaches her nose.

 

Camila’s flying down the road, running so fast that it only took Dinah a second to stand up on four legs, before Camila crashed into her, sending them both flying across the parking lot.

 

They’re snarling and growling at each other, nipping at each other’s legs playfully and biting like the wolves they are, when another scent reaches Dinah’s nose. She stops in her place, Camila raising a ear in question at her beta’s sudden change in mood.

 

Dinah sniffs, going around Camila before she settles on the top of the alpha’s head, sniffing there once, tasting the scent on her tongue.

 

“Dinah?” she hears Camila ask, snout nudging against the side of her neck. “You okay?”

 

Before Dinah can answer, the scent assaults her nose far closer now, rather than the lingering scent on Camila’s head.

 

She sees Camila head towards the car now turning from the road and into the parking lot, sitting by the driver’s door patiently, looking back towards Dinah for a moment saying _you’re acting weird_.

 

And then there she is.

 

Her scent reminds Dinah of cinnamon barks, hot cocoa, and musk.

 

She’s gorgeous.

 

And she smells like _mate_.

 

//

 

Normani had about two seconds to get her feet on the ground before there’s another werewolf there.

 

Light brown fur, brown eyes flashing blue for a moment, before the wolf stands on its hind legs, trapping Normani to the side of the car. She sees a tongue roll out of the wolf’s mouth, tail swishing harshly back and forth behind it, looking at Normani eagerly.

 

“Uh,” she hesitates, noting the way she hears Lauren whispering with Camila—she learned the wolf’s name on the car ride over as Lauren gushes about the wolf running alongside the car—“, hi?” she settles, suddenly yelping when the wolf licks a wet stripe on the side of her cheek.

 

And then the wolf hops off of her, circling once, and then there’s a naked woman in front of her.

 

A _hot_ naked woman.

 

Oh god.

 

“Hi,” the woman says, blonde hair whipping in front of her face, mouth stretched in a grin and the tips of her ears are red. “I’m Dinah Jane and can I take you out on a date? Like, right now?”

 

_What?_

 

//

 

The second hand embarrassment is _so_ painful to watch.

 

Ally sighs, taking out a long robe from under the host’s podium—that’s 90% decor and 10% used—near the diner’s entrance, before she marches outside, catching the end of Dinah’s question and the look of pure shock at the woman’s face.

 

She glares at Camila, who’s sitting by Lauren’s feet a few paces away, snorting at her beta.

 

“Hi,” Ally intervenes, chucking the cloth at Dinah. “I’m so sorry for her springing up on you like that. I’m Ally that’s Dinah Jane, and I’m assuming you’ve met Camila?” When the other woman just nods dumbfounded at her, she continues. “She usually doesn’t attack newcomers with date offers, so forgive her—“

 

“I’m being, like, a hundred percent honest with my offer though,” Dinah breathes, tying the robe, and sidling up to the woman, offering a small smile.

 

“Uh,” the woman says, looking between the Ally and Dinah before looking at Lauren with a clear message for _help_ and Ally feels momentarily bad when she sees Dinah’s face fall. “, how about we eat first?” She then turns to Dinah, smiling slightly. “I’ll assume that you’re a regular, anything you can recommend?”

 

//

 

If Camila’s shifted, she swears she would’ve been laughing so hard and loudly with how Dinah’s looking like an actual lovesick pup.

 

She catches Dinah glaring at her every now and then, face softening when Normani asks a question or even so much as speaks.

 

She wonders if she’s like that with Lauren, too.

 

//

 

Lauren comes home late on Thursday, keys dropping once before the door opens, and Camila’s suddenly on her feet, growling.

 

“Camz,” Lauren almost screams, jumping in place and admittedly a little scared when she hears the werewolf growl. “, what’s wrong? Is something the matter?” She asks, dropping her bag by the door, as well as the bouquet of flowers on top of the counter.

 

The werewolf follows her hands, before pouncing forward, snatching the flowers out of the counters and saunters outside.

 

Lauren is quick to follow, heart racing when she saw Camila shaking her head violently side to side, letting the petals fall to the ground. She’s got a theory inside her mind on why Camila did it, but she’s saving that one for herself.

 

Or maybe she can pry something out of Dinah in the future.

 

They’re sitting in silence over dinner. Camila’s more growly than usual, Lauren notes, eyeing the way the wolf’s nose would twitch before growling lowly, and then blowing out a large breath from the nose like she’s sneezing.

 

When they’ve finished with their dinner, plates messily thrown on top of each other on one end of the coffee table, Lauren watches when Camila hops from her place on the couch, sniffing around and then growling at a piece of petal stuck under her heels.

 

 _So that’s what it is_ , Lauren thinks, chuckling at the werewolf as she picks the petal up, making a show of opening the window and letting the petal fall outside. Camila huffs, walking away slinking inside to the darkness of Lauren’s bedroom.

 

“You’re not sleeping without brushing your teeth, Camz,” Lauren tells her, seeing the werewolf’s snout peek out from out of her bedroom door. “Get your ass to the bathroom, I’ll be there after I finish washing these dishes.”

 

And so to say that Lauren was surprised when she heard the bathroom door close, _lock_ , and the when the water starts running with the unmistakable sound of _teeth being brushed_ , Lauren runs to the bathroom door so fast she thinks she’s left skid marks on the floor.

 

She takes a breath in, tries the door knob and isn’t surprised that the door’s locked. “Camz?” But then the brushing sounds continues and then _Camila gargling_. Lauren doesn’t think she’ll ever be happy with hearing someone gargle.

 

A smile creeps up into Lauren’s mouth as she leans on the opposite wall, sliding down as she sits facing the bathroom door. There’s an awful amount of warmth spreading to her chest with the thought of Camila shifting _knowing_ that Lauren can reach for her keys and open the bathroom door—the amount of trust the wolf is putting on Lauren’s hands right now makes her feel pretty _damn_ good.

 

“Camz?” she asks again when she hears the water stop.

 

She _did not_ expect a _hmm?_ floating between the cracks under the bathroom door and into her ears.

 

It was just a fucking hum but Lauren could already feel it down to her bones, making her giddy.

 

She’s not even mad when she hears the door unlock and is only _mildly_ disappointed when she sees Camila has shifted back, tail hitting Lauren twice as the wolf passes her by on the way back to the bedroom.

 

When Lauren’s settled back down on her bed, she figured she owes Camila an explanation for the flowers earlier.

 

“They’re from Ty, an ex of mine,” Lauren says, hearing the thumping of Camila’s tail stop as ears and head perks up in sudden interest but not expecting the low growl. “, the flowers, I mean. They’re from him. We work together but he’s working on a different department so we don’t really run into each other. Except for today, he’s, uh, asking me to get back together with him again.”

 

She looks at the way Camila slumps back down on the floor, growl ceasing. “I won’t be getting back together with him soon,” she says, adding a haste, _so don’t worry about it_ at the end because she feels like she owes Camila that.

 

She dangles a hand, smiles at the way Camila rests a paw near, licks the back of her palm once in return to Lauren’s _night Camz_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i might update again on my birthday (which is this saturday, if anyone wants to know) but we'll seeeeee
> 
> i've had a particularly hard time to get this chapter out so i hope that you guys can send me prompts of what you'd like to see and stuff
> 
> also!! head over on my tumblr: fxbricxtedrexlity to send the prompts
> 
> and my wattpad: fxbricxtedrexlity and leave a vote on this chapter because why the hell not?
> 
> ALSO!!! check out my other story: too much. it's a camren friends with benefits au and it'll mean a lot to me if you checked it out
> 
> thanks for reading and have a good one!!


	5. getting physical

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> shoutout to Thalmor for the "normani seeing camila" and the "uninvited ty" prompt xx
> 
> AND I'M OFFICIALLY 18!!!

//

 

Lauren looks at it, wonders how the hell did it end up there, before settling on the fact that maybe it fell of the bed when she tossed and turned the night before.

 

This is one of the rare moments that Lauren wakes up before her alarm _and_ Camila.

 

So when she wakes up and sees a sharp contrast of white against the wolf’s dark brown fur, Lauren resists the urge to coo loudly, biting her lip and reaching for her phone, putting her phone on silent—because she’s not an amatuer in taking candid photos—and snapping a photo, secretly sending it to Mani.

 

It’s one of her pillows, nestled comfortably under Camila’s head and a large paw, body of pure muscle curled around it like a teddy bear.

 

Lauren doesn’t know how long she’s been staring but when her phone dings with a reply from Normani— _okay, that’s cute and all but wtf are you awake so early_ —she finally gathers her hair up in a ponytail, padding lightly around to start a proper breakfast as she computes in her mind how long she has before she needs to be at work.

 

She’s setting up the plates on the couch, feeling light and well-rested before Camila struts into the living room, stretching languidly and plopping to the couch, head resting against Lauren’s thighs.

 

“Good sleep?” she asks, head threading through the fur on what she thinks is the nape of the wolf’s neck, when she hears _it_.

 

It’s faint, barely there, and if not for the vibrations humming against Lauren’s thighs, she wouldn’t even notice it.

 

But it’s there, low and rumbling and—“Oh my god, are you _purring?_ ”

 

Camila stops purring, eyes opening in what Lauren assumes is a hopeful attempt at a glare, huffing once, but doesn’t attempt to move away.

 

“Come on, you big baby, I cook breakfast for you and you sleep on me?” Lauren asks, lazily combing through Camila’s fur again, smiling to herself when she feels the wolf sink itself deeper against her thighs, whiskers tingling her bare skin, purr vibrating that she feels all the way down to her bones.

 

 _Trust_ , she thinks, taking a french toast and teasingly runs it before Camila’s nose, watching the wolf’s nose twitch but press harder against Lauren’s thighs.

 

Lauren doesn’t even feel bad when she got to work half an hour late.

 

//

 

A lot of things become their routine, then.

 

When Lauren forgets to “drop” her pillow to the floor one night, she wakes up to Camila’s whiskers tickling her arm, sees the wolf standing up on front legs on the side of her bed, reaching for a pillow, before loudly thumping back against the carpet with the pillow clutched tightly between paws and her snout buried against it.

 

Lauren doesn’t close her bedroom door, too, for Camila. So in most mornings that Camila wakes up before Lauren’s alarm and Lauren herself,when Lauren drags her half awake ass to the shower, she sees a few fallen hair against the shower wall, the floor slightly wet, and so is Camila’s toothbrush.

 

But after the first morning that Lauren sees the floor outside of the bathroom littered with wet paw marks, she made Camila swear to use the hair dryer before leaving the bathroom.

 

And then comes their breakfast. Lauren worries about the less usage of her very _not cheap_ dining set but the thought flies out of her mind when Camila dumps her head against Lauren, silently grumbling for an early morning petting.

 

Camila also cleans up the apartment a bit. Washing the dishes, vacuuming the carpets, and even dusting the top of some shelves—Lauren noticed the top of the TV was spotless and the wolf sneezing every now and then that night.

 

So, yeah, when Mani asks her over a phone call during their lunch break on a Tuesday morning _how’s living with a werewolf?_ , Lauren can say that it’s not that bad.

 

//

 

Normani’s nervous.

 

Just _what_ is the proper etiquette for a first date with a werewolf?

 

And the couple of links that Lauren sent her over the week— _at least you’re getting reference and help, I haven’t had that when I met Camz—_ did _not_ help in the slightest. Except that maybe Normani has an extensive knowledge on werewolf anatomy after that link Lauren sent her late last night to which she was flustered by the end of reading the blog, sending a half-meant _fuck you_ to her best friend but also thankful.

 

At least she’s _informed_.

 

Dinah exchanged numbers with her outside of Normani’s office earlier that week, blushing and tripping over her words, admitting sheepishly that she scent-tracked Normani because _I can’t stop thinking about you and I really want to take you out on a date_.

 

 _Jesus_ , it’s not like she killed Normani right there on the spot. Nope. Nah-uh.

 

(Normani gave her points for cuteness, sincerity, and originality, though.)

 

She spends the better part of the morning with Lauren on video call, half naked and camera pointed towards her closet with the theme of “freshly mauled by a tornado”.

 

“Hey, where’s Camila?” she asks, tossing another blouse into the pile of what Lauren dubbed as the “NOPE”.

 

Lauren looks up from where she was organizing own closet. “Mm? Oh, she went out this morning after breakfast.”

 

Normani stops, hands on her hips, body on full view in which Lauren wolf-whistles to. “Huh. Think she’s with Dinah right now?”

 

“Oh god, that’s so _cute_ , Mani.” Lauren gushes. Now that it’s in Normani’s head, she can’t stop thinking about it. Dinah, using whatever communication thing it is that werewolves use to send an SOS to Camila. She imagines the two werewolves, fussing about in Dinah’s bedroom and looking just like how she and Lauren are at the moment.

 

“Do werewolves have great fashion sense?” Normani asks, holding up two shirts against her head to which Lauren shakes her head to both. “Was that for both of my questions?”

 

“On the clothes one. I can’t say so much for the werewolf fashion, though.” Lauren says, motioning her fingers in a _turn around_ gesture as Normani tries a dress on. “They’re not a fan of clothes, remember?”

 

“Oh yeah,” Normani says, stripping again, looking down at her underwear. “Think I should change these?” she says, gesturing against her current set, snapping the waistband of her panties once.

 

“Totally. Choose the white ones you bought from Vegas.” Lauren says at the same time Normani sighs, burying her head on her palms.

 

“Oh god,” Normani groans, running both hands over her face. “What am I even thinking—we’re going out for _lunch_ , Laur, not dinner or going clubbing.”

 

Lauren shrugs, her smirk grainy over the video quality but still manages to make Normani roll her eyes. “Afternoon sex, Mani. Those exists.”

 

And so here she is. Two hours and a totally decimated wardrobe later, Normani applies another layer of lipstick, smacking her lips once and checks her reflection on the rear view mirror, humming to herself in satisfaction.

 

She and Dinah agreed to meet up in a strip mall with a food park in the middle and then agreeing to just winging it from there on.

 

The moment Normani steps outside of her car, the L.A. heat assaulting her, she immediately sees Dinah—or the half of the werewolf’s face, anyway, and _damn_. Fond of clothes or not, Dinah sure knows how to dress up. Normani feels her face heat up, feeling no shame in ogling her _date_ — _oh god—_ even from afar.

 

But before Normani starts walking towards the other side of the parking lot, she sees Dinah laugh, blonde curls bounding, pretty and open and _oh_ , there’s another girl with her.

 

Normani prides in herself for her self-confidence, knowing the right amount from too much, but she can’t help but feel weird. The other woman is _gorgeous_.

 

Dark hair that runs to the middle of her back, toned arms showcased in a cut-off tank top, and lean legs going on for miles with light washed shorts, and body with the right amount of curves—Normani watches them, notices the way Dinah doesn’t lean in too close, body language not intimate like one would do when flirting to someone else.

 

And then she heard Lauren’s voice inside her head.

 

_“Oh, she went out this morning.”_

 

“Fuck,” Normani curses, sees the way Dinah looks at her wrist watch, the other woman waving before walking away to the other direction, the blonde fishing around for her phone and typing away. She feels her phone vibrate against her pocket, knowing that it’s Dinah without even looking but Normani’s still stuck in her place, thoughts falling into place. “Was that Camila?” she asks no one in particular, wind blowing, and sees the exact moment Dinah’s nose twitches and whips her head, eyes easily locking into Dinah’s.

 

 _I just saw Camila_ , Normani thought, wondering if she should tell Lauren. But scolds herself for thinking about that when her date walks over.

 

By five minutes, Normani forgot everything outside her and Dinah.

 

//

 

He’s persistent.

 

It’s a Monday and everyone in Lauren’s floor stares at the large and grand two bouquet of flowers on her table, all gushing and Lauren rolls her eyes because _of course_.

 

If there’s something Lauren learned in the two years she’s had a relationship with the guy, it’s that Ty always loves to be talked about, making grand gestures like this must have him smiling to himself in his office right now.

 

She makes a show of throwing them in the trash. Plus, with the way Camila reacted to the last flowers, her throwing it in the trash is a _favor_.

 

It’s a Wednesday, Lauren hung back in the office, wanting to arrange everything she usually does in the morning. She plans on making a recipe she watched online for her and Camila’s breakfast, already anticipating that she might come in late the next morning.

 

What she _didn’t_ anticipate is to see Ty in the lobby, holding another bouquet of flowers in one hand and an outstretched hand waiting for her to take.

 

Lauren swears he’s straight up trying to kill a whole ecosystem, a big no-no for her.

 

She just smiled at him, wished him a safe trip home, and left, heels clicking against the marble tiles of the lobby and the doorman snickers under his breath, wishing Lauren a good night.

 

When Lauren thought that he left her alone, he goes and throws Lauren for a whiplash when he hired a fucking Mexican serenade band during her lunch break on Monday. All throughout their relationship, Lauren stressed that _no, Ty, being Latina doesn’t_ always _mean I’m Mexican_ so she hasn’t bothered correcting him again after the fifth time.

 

They sang three songs, a decent set if you asked Lauren, and then brandishing an even _grander_ bouquet of flowers and a large chocolate cake.

 

She opens the cake, tells the whole office to eat it—including the band—and she pointedly glares at Ty when she saw him leaning on the side of the elevator, sees him shaking his head once before he disappears back into the elevator. She gives the flowers to one man in the band who admits that it’s his mother’s birthday, telling him to give it to her and pressing a couple of bills on his palm with a promise to treat his family out for dinner.

 

It’s Thursday of the same week and frankly, Lauren’s tired.

 

But when she saw Ty’s car parked on the street in front of her apartment building, seeing the man step out of his car and cross the road, Lauren throws off her heels, snatching it fro, the ground and speed walking to her door.

 

The door opens with Camila sitting languidly on the couch, ears perked up and then suddenly she’s on her feet, passing by Lauren and into the open door, already growling lowly just as Tyrone stops a few steps away from Lauren’s door.

 

“Woah,” he says, stopping in his tracks, pulling back a few loose dreads to the back. “, didn’t know you adopted a mutt, Lauren.”

 

He attempts to sidestep around Camila, but the wolf rises to its full height, growl rising in volume, teeth bared, and Lauren starts to feel scared, images of what Camila did to the bouquet of roses a few weeks ago assaulting the forefront of her mind.

 

“She’s not a mutt,” Lauren sighs, not wanting to tug Camila away from the doorway because she actually doesn’t want Ty to think that he’s still welcomed in her house. “She’s living with me.”

 

Ty clicks his tongue. “You know pets aren’t allowed in my penthouse. You’ll have to get rid of it if when you move in.”

 

Lauren feels like she missed a _whole_ lot of a conversation somewhere. _“What?”_ she spits out at the same time Camila snaps her jaws once, canines snapping loudly, and taking a step forward towards Tyrone, making him instinctively take _three_ steps back. “Why in hell am I moving in with you? In case you forgotten, we broke up. _Months_ ago.”

 

“Oh, come on, Lauren,” he says, as if talking to a child. “, everyone knows you’ve been miserable without me. I’m doing you a _favor_ here and making the move, like what you women want.”

 

She feels like all the aggression rolling off of in Camila in waves suddenly went inside her in her sharp inhale, incredulity marring her face, as she takes a step forward. “How _dare_ you,” Lauren says lowly, hearing Camila’s growl cease lightly. “How dare you.” She repeats, taking a move forward, Camila by her side. “Don’t you dare assume again and if I see you near my property _one more time_ , Tyrone, I swear I won’t hold Camila back from biting you like a well done steak.”

 

The sound of the door slamming shut reverberates through the whole apartment, Camila still on guard until they both hear Ty saying _you know what, fuck you, don’t come running to me._ Lauren heaves a sigh, collapsing against the couch when hears the footsteps fade.

 

Camila stays in her position by the door, glaring at the wood, only relaxing once she hears a car zoom out of the street, taking the filthy scent away from her and Lauren/

 

Lauren wasn’t even surprised when Camila circles her apartment, bumping her body against different surfaces of furnitures in a gesture that she’s come to associate with Camila scenting the place.

 

She doesn’t move when Camila hops into the couch, wet snout pressing against Lauren’s stomach, nosing until her shirt rucks up slightly, shivering when she feels the tickling sensation of Camila’s fur and whiskers. Camila growls into the skin, rubbing her snout and neck against Lauren’s stomach in a way that feels increasingly intimate with each passing moment.

 

When Camila pulls away with a satisfies huff, Lauren feels ashamed that she feels her nipples pebbled, peaks scratching against her bra, face flushed and feeling hot. Camila looks so smug _,_ a smirk hidden under the fur.

 

“So,” Lauren clears her throat, trying to subtlety pull her shirt down. “, how about pizza for dinner?”

 

//

 

Just when Lauren thinks that Camila’s done with her scent marking or whatever it is that werewolves do, she’s surprised when Camila tugs on her slacks with her teeth, pulling lightly.

 

“I need to do the dishes first, Camz,” she says, patting the wolf’s head lightly. Lauren feels teeth on her bare ankle, stares down at Camila, jaws wide as she fits Lauren’s ankle in her mouth. Teeth grazes her skin again once, lightly, but enough for Lauren to know that Camila means it. “Okay, okay, geez, no dishwashing, then.”

 

Camila pushes her with a snout into the bedroom, ushers Lauren into her closet in a silent command to change clothes while Camila goes to the bathroom, the sound of her brushing her teeth and the toilet flushing loud against Lauren’s ears.

 

She’s sitting on the edge of the bed when Camila comes in again, tail hitting the door once.

 

Lauren, however, was not prepared when she feels the bed dip beside her, Camila urging her to lie back, as the wolf sinks to the spot beside her.

 

“Are you sure you want to—“

 

A heavy paw on her stomach stops Lauren from moving, makes her slither under the covers, the warmth radiating from Camila’s body close that makes her want to slide in closer.

 

Camila huffs once, satisfied, and Lauren takes that as her cue to sleep.

 

//

 

She wakes up cuddled up to the wolf, her hands tangled under thick fur, and dark brown eyes watching her lazily from where its perched on the pillow Lauren knocks over in her sleep.

 

It takes her a few minutes before Lauren notices that she’s already late for work.

 

That one becomes their thing too. Not the one where Lauren goes to work late, but the other one.

 

//

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh god i asked you guys what you want to get updated and you said running wild when i was ALMOST done with too much’s update omg i wrote this 12 midnight and now it’s 6AM fck me THE THINGS I DO FOR YOU GUYS I SWEAR
> 
> sooo anyway, if you havent checked out my stories over at wattpad yet, pls do. i frequently ask questions there as well as in my tumblr: fxbricxtedrexlity
> 
> and i also want to start a thing where i post snippets of the upcoming chapters in my tumblr with the tags: running wild, camren werewolf au, and sneak peak so stick around!!
> 
> thanks for reading and have a good one!


	6. werewolf culture

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> QUICK NOTES!!
> 
> for the sake of the kid—and mainly because even thinking about it makes me feel icky—let’s just say that sofi’s a pureblood too (since she’s camzi’s sister) but is a beta (but can be an alpha if camila passes the alpha duty to her though camzi would have to die for that sooooo wrong story arc). so make your own deductions from that but this’ll be the last time i’ll mention sofi in that sense.
> 
> this is kind of a build up chapter for the next one soooo it might be a little lacking :((
> 
> lauren almost sees human!camila prompt by chanceftmila
> 
> AND THANK YOU FOR THE 2.5k+ hits hsgdhjksdfksdf im so happy!!! thankyou so much!!!

To say that Normani’s nervous is an understatement.

 

She chances another glance up, tearing her eyes away from her plate as she looks at Camila. The wolf’s seated by the window, head turned sideways to watch Lauren, a ghost of a smile hidden under the fur and ears flattened on top of her head.

 

Normani tries to incorporate Camila as a wolf to the woman she saw the other day, not noticing her eyebrows scrunching up and straight up glaring at the wolf.

 

“Mani?” Lauren says, putting down her fork, making the wolf look directly at the other woman across from them.

 

 _Definitely brunette_ , Normani thought to herself, looking at Camila’s fur, the dark brown shining under the diner’s harsh and bright fluorescents. Camila stands in her seat, looking out the window just as Dinah bounds into view, ears flopping as she runs towards the window. _If Dinah’s blonde hair translates to her real hair, then it_ is _Camila I saw the other day_.

 

Dinah disappears from view, turning towards the side of the diner, and Normani’s eyes tries to follow, her eyes landing back on her best friend. “What?” she asks, feeling at the side of her face for a stray piece of food sticking somewhere.

 

“Nothing,” Lauren shakes her head, but not before raising an eyebrow to Normani’s phone, faced down on top of the table. It dings with a message.

 

**_Laur 3:02PM_ **

_Is everything okay?_

_You seem spaced out earlier_

 

**_Mani Bear 3:02PM_ **

_yeah yeah, just thinking bout somethin_

 

“Darn kids these days,” Dinah attempts at an accent, moving to sit beside Nomrani _clothed_ this time—much to Normani’s both disappointment and relief, seeing Dinah naked again will probably land them in third base before the second date—“, always on them damned phones.”

 

Lauren cringes. “That’s the worst one I’ve heard so far,” she says, hand reaching out to play with Camila’s fur by the neck, Dinah muttering _you’re so damn whipped, Chanch_ , before Ally materializes beside them.

 

“Mila, did you ask them?” Ally asks, hands busying around the table as she bustles with plopping a plate of tacos before Dinah and taking away the finishes plates. Camila sinks in her seat, huffing once in a clear message of _no_ , pressing herself against Lauren’s palm.

 

Then a lightbulb goes inside Normani’s head. _Of course_.

 

“Ally!” She screams, standing suddenly as everyone in their table looks at them. “I, uh, can I talk to you for a moment?”

 

Ally blinks once, twice, motioning for Normani to sit again as she finishes up with the other tables.

 

“Is something wrong?” Dinah asks around a mouthful, sauce running down the side of her mouth as Normani wipes it off.

 

“Nothing, just wanted to ask something.”

 

Ally led her outside through the employees locker room, shutting the door behind them and ducking near a window bursting with smoke and rich aromas. Normani watches as she pulls out her phone and opens up a recording audio of…static?

 

“I grew up with them and werewolves have great hearing, especially when shifted like Mila,” she explains, smiling up at Normani. “The other side of the wall is the kitchen too, so they’ll have to strain their ears through that noise and this one to reach us. I’m assuming you want to talk about something personal, right?”

 

Normani gapes. “Yeah, actually,” she clears her throat. “I, uh, can I ask why Camila never shifts?”

 

Ally’s smile dims, her eyes looking more serious than Normani’s ever seen it. “That’s her reason to share. Was that all?”

 

Sensing the mood sinking, Normani holds both her hands up in surrender. “I didn’t mean it like that, like I’m intruding or being nosy, but,” she breathes in, glad that the other woman took precautionary measures because if _this_ is how Ally reacted, she’d rather not think about how Dinah would. “I think I saw her with Dinah the other day. I guess that’s what made me curious about all of this.”

 

It was a few more seconds as Normani’s statement hangs in the air between them when Ally heaved a sigh, smiling up apologetically at her.

 

“I’m sorry for going off,” she apologizes which Normani was quick to reassure. “It’s just that I’ve known those two ever since they were small kids and it’s—this is just me trying to take care of them when it’s all they’ve done for me.”

 

“No, no, no, I totally understand.” Normani bites her lip, already regretting drawing the subject up. “I’ve got siblings too so I know how it feels.”

 

There’s silence between them that neither breaks, both contemplating. Normani takes it her cue to go back to her seat when Ally turns off the audio record, smiling at her with a _take care of Dinah_ thrown in the wind as she reties her apron, going back inside.

 

 _Better ask Camila myself, I guess_.

 

//

 

Lauren stretches languidly, hearing the shower running and Camila’s faint humming carries through the open bedroom door. Checking the time, Lauren closes her eyes, burying her nose to the pillow on the other side of the bed that smells vaguely like Camila, ears straining to hear more of the song Camila’s humming.

 

She wakes up to a snout pressing against her arm, wet and warm, pulling her out of sleep.

 

“What’s up, Camz?” she asks, smacking dry lips. Camila huffs, warm breath fanning across Lauren face, before the wolf goes inside her closet, coming out with a blazer still in its hanger in between large canines. “You want me to go to work?”

 

Camila stares. Lauren doesn’t smell sick or exhausted—in fact, the human slept earlier than she usually does, drinking a glass of wine with her dinner, washing the dishes, and then tucking herself in so Camila had no choice but to hop in next to her, smiling to herself when Lauren inches closer to her body.

 

Lauren’s low laugh fills her ears, making them perk up in interest and wag her tail faster. “It’s okay, Camz,” she says, sitting upright, shivering as the cold floor touches her bare feet. “It’s a holiday today. Means no work today.”

 

The morning light sweeps inside from the light drapes of Lauren’s bedroom, making the atmosphere feel more suburban thank it actually is. Ethereal, even.

 

They pad towards the living room, enjoying the slow morning, before Lauren notices the wolf heading for the door.

 

“Oh, you’re going outside again today?” Lauren can’t help but ask, already halfway to opening the door for the werewolf. She tries to not let the disappointment slip through her voice, but she couldn’t help it. Not when she wanted to kind of spend a day inside with Camila.

 

Camila notices, of course, nuzzling against Lauren’s hip. Her shirt slips up again, Camila’s nose pressing against her skin, and wasn’t prepared to feel the slightly rough texture of Camila’s skin lapping at her skin once, before Camila steps outside.

 

Lauren feels flush, her face hot, and tongue-tied. She stuttered a _take care and be back before dinner_ after Camila’s rapidly disappearing form, but she doesn’t doubt that the werewolf hadn’t heard it.

 

//

 

**_Ally 11:24AM_ **

_Hey Lauren, this is Ally_

_Camila’s been asking for you all morning_

_And Dinah for Normani_

_So can you guys come by to the preserve?_

_They’re playing but we’re also having a picnic right now_

 

Lauren stares at the text messages. She and Ally exchanged numbers since their first meeting— _since my child is practically living with you_ , she justifies—and the only thing that stands out to Lauren is _Camila asked for me?_

 

The smile slips out before she can stop it, feeling giddy and happy.

 

**_Lauren 11:26AM_ **

_Hey Ally!_

_Yeah I think Mani’s free, too, I’ll go and ask her_

_Do you need me to bring something?_

 

**_Ally 11:27AM_ **

_Great! Maybe meat?_

_Anything you can, honestly_

_We’ve already got a few couple of burgers and hotdogs cooking_

_So anything you bring will be fine_

 

**_Lauren 11:28AM_ **

_Okay, great!_

_Be there in an hour or so_

 

And when Lauren rapidly fire texts to Normani about the gist of it, her best friend replies with a: “Calm your tits, Laur, geez. Pick me up when you’re on your way, I think I’ve got some steaks left in the fridge, anyway.”

 

But Lauren’s attention was already elsewhere, rummaging around her cabinets until she sees a bag of marshmallow and a box of graham crackers, the chocolate can be bought on the way and— _what will I wear, oh my god_.

 

//

 

They’re pulling up in the designated parking of the preserve, a couple of rangers telling when about wildlife and what not to do but when Lauren mentioned that she’s actually there for a picnic under the Cabello’s name—an additional instruction Ally texted her when she said they’re near—the rangers immediately loosened up, smiling warmly and telling them to not get too crazy, before they walked away to another group.

 

Lauren sees the appeal of the preserve, piecing together why Camila and Dinah would like to play here. Nature surrounds them on all sides, cool breeze sweeping against the land.

 

She hears the giggle before the girl comes into view, brown curls bouncing and laughter bouncing in the path she leaves as she runs. _Really_ fast, Lauren notes.

 

She crashes into Lauren, panting for breath and squealing, just as Camila comes into view.

 

The wolf is also running, slowing down to a trot as she nears Lauren, the girl holding onto Lauren tightly as she laughs loudly. Lauren’s confused, even more so when she hears Camila growl. It’s low, at first, but then Camila start growling loudly, in a way that makes Lauren hold the girl tighter.

 

“Camz?” she hesitates, sees the wolf lowering on her front legs, and Lauren’s seen the Lion King too many times to predict that Camila’s going to _pounce_. “No, Camz, what are you doing?” she panics, ears ringing with the loud growl Camila is making, teeth bared, and looking positively _feral_.

 

Camila lunges forward once, almost making Lauren fall flat on her ass, but it’s enough that she loosens her hold on the kid. The girl jumps away, laughing, and then there’s fabric everywhere.

 

 _Oh god_ , Lauren’s feels the color drain from her face, _the girl just shifted_.

 

But then Camila’s on the smaller wolf, pinning her down with a growl to which to younger wolf answers by licking Camila’s cheek, scrambling to her feet and running away from the direction she came from.

 

“Okay, what the _fuck_ was that?” Normani nearly screeches, voice high and eyes wide, looking at Camila.

 

As if out of nowhere, Dinah comes out of the woods, disheveled and flushed, only wearing a sports bra and running shorts on, bare feet digging into the forest land.

 

“You made it!” She says, smiling at the two humans. “And you bought steak, oh my god, I’m starving again. Here, let me help you.”

 

Lauren finally regained her bearings, looking at Camila, the wolf sitting on her hind legs, looking positively amused at Lauren’s bewilderment. “You’re not going to explain what that was? How I thought you’re going to _kill_ that girl?”

 

Dinah’s laugh booms out, looking at Camila once and receiving a small nod. “That, Lauser, was Sofia.” Dinah supplies, gesturing an arm in front of her towards the camping area. “She’s Mila’s younger sister.”

 

//

 

It’s _weird_.

 

The humans—as Dinah so graciously dubbed them—are at the sidelines, cooking, watching as the three werewolves clamor about each other, Dinah and Sofia more energetic while Camila’s laying in between them, opening her eyes every now and then when the youngest wolf would nip at her ear and tugs.

 

“So,” Normani begins, flipping a steak and adding more salt to one side. “, how old is Camila’s sister?”

 

“She’s eleven, Camila’s only sibling and the pack’s baby.” Ally supplies, setting up plates on a table.

 

They’re beside Lauren, chatting nonchalantly about different things, while Lauren’s quiet, trying to sink the information in and tries not to practically _melt_ with how Camila looks with her sister, the earlier fiasco notwithstanding.

 

She sees Camila relaxed, resting against the grass, and nudging the younger wolf back up on her feet whenever she stumbles into Camila. It makes Lauren’s heart ache for her own siblings, wonders if that’s how they look to others since they’re pretty close too.

 

Lauren tears her eyes away from the three when Camila when Normani finishes up cooking, Ally rounding up the wolves and is only mildly disappointed when two out of three shifted back.

 

The table’s circular, but Lauren’s soon got Sofia pressed up against her side, nuzzling and warm brown eyes stare up at her.

 

“Are you Kaki’s mate?” she asks, eyes wide and hopeful, and Lauren only guesses that the context of that statement means something to werewolves because Ally scolds with a soft _Sofia_ despite her blush, Dinah’s laugh ringing all around as she slaps her palm against her thighs and sagging against Normani.

 

Camila, however, had different plans. She bites softly at Sofi’s wrist, the younger wolf laughing and twisting away from her canines but looks chastises and mutter a soft _sorry_ before shoving food inside her mouth.

 

Lauren’s curiosity peaked. “What’s a mate?” She’s got a vague idea, but she wants a concrete answer and what it entails, exactly.

 

Ally clears her throat, willing her blush to die down as Dinah’s laugh starts again. “It’s a werewolf’s equal for a spouse,” Ally says, taking a sip of her juice. “But werewolves do it for lifetime, so no on divorces. It’s a bond, in a simpler sense.”

 

“Basically,” Dinah interjects, still red in the face from her laughing fit. “, you can know your compatibility after you’ve had s-e-x,” she tries for censorship, minding the kid with them to which Sofi replies with _I can spell, I’m eleven_. “And the bond solidifies in a way that you feel the other’s emotions, heighten senses for your partner, things like that.”

 

 _Huh, the more you know_.

 

“Anyway,” Ally says, cutting into her steak. “, there’s a full moon coming up.” She looks at Dinah and Camila before turning to Lauren. “We—and I mean the whole pack, is wondering if you two can come with? You guys are technically part of the pack, either way. But it’s still up to you if you want to come.”

 

“Mila missed the last few ones, so people have been asking for her,” Dinah says looking pointedly at Lauren, making her realize just how much time Camila’s been spending with her and at her place lately. Day and night, Camila’s always there. This is the first time _weeks_ that she’s acknowledge that Camila is _still_ human, and has a life outside of her home.

 

Ally seems to pick up on her internal monologue, quick to reassure Lauren. “It’s fine, really, don’t worry.” She then turns to Camila, looking apologetic to stern in a split second. “But you’re still the alpha, okay Mila?”

 

When they’re all cleaning up, Sofi roughhousing with Dinah in the grass, Camila watching at a few ways away, Normani decides to be the voice of reason.

 

“Just _what_ exactly do you guys do on a full moon? And what’s our part?”

 

Dinah swoops in, arms tangling around Normani’s waist as she grins proudly. “You’re there for the celebration for another full moon. Us?” She says, gesturing to Camila and Sofi pressed up against each other on the grass, looking back at them. “We _run_.”

 

//

 

So that’s how Lauren ended up in the mall a few days later, phone in hand, scrolling through her different bookmarked tabs on _what to expect in a werewolf full moon run_ which, might she add, only produced _actual_ answers when Lauren’s two-hour deep in her research, all the previous results always pointing her to a werewolf kink shops, adult shops, and even a shady looking website that tracks werewolf runs and rituals all over Europe.

 

It’s as traumatizing as it sounds.

 

Nothing really came up useful, even Ally told her not to bring anything because everything covered for and that she’s an honored guest or something. Basically, her trip to the mall has been for nothing.

 

At least Camila’s doing something, Ally texting her last night that Camila needs to do some errands, so she set her alarm earlier than usual in hopes of Camila getting to where she needed to be earlier.

 

(Camila was late. Lauren’s alarm made them both way too groggy that they ended up sleeping on the couch, Lauren waking up to Camila tugging on her sleeve.)

 

Lauren looks up when she hears a commotion at the food court, her eyes landing her eyes on a woman.

 

And _holy shit_ , the woman’s _stunning_.

 

Brunette hair that runs down the middle of her back, jawline that Lauren can see even from a great distance—oh god, her bone structure’s _perfect_ —and Lauren _melts_.

 

But then the woman turns her back to Lauren and— _fuck, even her ass is amazing_.

 

The woman’s swims out of Lauren’s vision and then she’s gone.

 

Lauren curses her luck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just want to take a moment to say thank you. you guys make the story, i just put the words into it :) this is why i love writing, you guys can see the process and be part of how the story unfolds. thanks for giving me a reason to write xx
> 
> sooo anyway, if you havent checked out my stories over at wattpad yet, pls do. i frequently ask questions there as well as in my tumblr: fxbricxtedrexlity
> 
> AND ALSO!! give my other story a read: too much. it's a camren friends with benefits au, hope you like it!!
> 
> thanks for reading and have a good one!!


	7. debunking theories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lauren trying to play fetch with camila by NSFWcabello, normila interactions prompt by kooxyyy, lauren falling unconscious prompt by phoenix2901, and camren cuddling prompt by down_goes_the_brit altho the extra fluffy bits that comes with the prompts were entirely my fault im so sorry

Lauren’s lounging on the couch, eyes glued on her phone. She gave up on trying to get the wolf’s attention a few minutes ago since Camila seemed so dead set on scenting every inch of Lauren’s apartment every few seconds; making rounds, bumping against furnitures and leaving fallen fur on the carpet.

 

The wolf’s extra growly recently, Lauren notes, as she hears the light padding of Camila’s footsteps against the floor and feels the heat of the wolf’s body passing from where her head’s perched on the arm of the couch, a low growl reverberating through her ears.

 

That’s when Lauren stumbles upon the cutest twitter tag ever.

 

The #whatthefluff challenge.

 

She squeals, giggling as she hits replay on the fifth video, Camila sparing her a glance before huffing loudly, sitting on the floor and plopping its head on Lauren’s stomach.

 

“Camz, you have to see this,” Lauren sits up, making Camila grumble, but complying anyway when Lauren urged her to sit beside her.

 

Camila’s unamused.

 

She stares at the screen, watching as countless dogs fall for their owners hiding behind a sheet. Use your nose, Camila thought, resting her chin against Lauren’s shoulder, watches as the human’s thumb goes to scroll towards the next video.

 

“So,” Lauren starts, pushing her phone away on the coffee table after five solid minutes of giggling at the screen. “, since you’re part wolf, it means you have kind of like dog instincts, right?” When Camila just stares at Lauren with eyes saying I already know where this is going, the human continues. “I’ve never had a dog trained so far enough to play fetch with so can we?”

 

Camila stares at Lauren, sees how serious the woman is, so she stands and hops of the couch, tail hitting Lauren’s leg as she sits on the carpet on the other side of the living room, head turned away from Lauren’s laugh words of oh come on, it won’t be that bad squeezed in between giggles.

 

There’s a familiar scent lingering near the door and Camila’s ears perked up when she hears Normani’s voice floating through the door. “Open the door, Camren! I have lots of shit with me!”

 

Camila’s instantly trotting near Lauren’s side, watching as the two women unwraps food Normani brought from containers onto dishes. Normani presses a hand against Camila’s head with a hey Mila before setting up the plates on the couch, along with a thick stack of papers.

 

“What’s that for?” Lauren asks in between bites, the rice in her burrito on the verge of falling.

 

“Research,” Normani pats the stack of papers, pulling one from the top, the title in bold letters.

 

“On The Run: A Werewolf Tradition?” Lauren reads out loud, Camila letting out a suspicious sounding snicker from where she’s been eating on the floor. “You know that you have Dinah—a werewolf, might I add—and Ally to ask, right?”

 

Before Normani can answer, Lauren’s phone rings and she excuses herself with a quick sip of water and a it’s Tay, I’ll catch up with you both after this call.

 

Normani’s ears strain for the unmistakable sound of Lauren’s bedroom closing and her traditional high-pitched scream of little sister before she turns to Camila again, the wolf already looking back at her.

 

“I’m still a little bit new to the whole werewolf thing and now I’m dating one, and I just really need you to listen and like, nod your head yes or no,” Normani’s voice is pleading as her hands fidgets with a napkin on her lap when Camila huffs out a laugh, tilting her head to the side in a lieu of continue. “So,” Normani blows out a breath, palms sliding against the fabric of her jeans to wipe the sudden sweat on her palms, going to the last few papers on the bottom of the file. “, can we start with debunking truth about werewolf sex?”

 

Lauren comes back to the living room over half an hour later, the phone call with her little sister stretching on farther than she anticipated. With the sound of Lauren’s footsteps, she sees her best friend shoving a bunch of paper with bright red marker that looks suspiciously like notes and scribbled out texts.

 

The tips of Normani’s ears were the same red shade as the marker, Camila’s laying down on the carpet with her head resting against her paws, eyes closed and looking smug, and Lauren’s awfully suspicious.

 

“Did I miss anything?” She asks, sitting next to Normani who’s blushing profusely.

 

Normani squeaks out a nope, nothing so fast that Camila snorts, tail wagging faster behind her as she watches on with amusement. “Just asked Camila about what Dinah likes, that’s all,” she says, tugging the collar of her blouse away from her neck as the blush covers her neck.

 

Lauren drops it, thinking that she can ask her best friend about it on a later time.

 

They’re half a stack deep into Normani’s research of what humans should do in a werewolf run—spoiler, so far it told them to stay away from wolf’s participating in a run but it couldn’t be dangerous if they’ve been invited—and when Lauren tossed her pen to the other side of the living room, Normani startling with the sound, Lauren just shrugs.

 

“We’re working on Camz’s ability to fetch.”

 

Camila pounces, licks Lauren’s leg sloppily, the human squealing as she wriggles away from the playful wolf, and yeah, Lauren got that one coming.

 

//

 

She honestly lost track of how many times Camila scent-marked her today.

 

Lauren woke up to Camila huffing beside her, paw heavy on her stomach as Camila presses her down on the mattress, warm nose nudging against the column of her neck. She barely opened her eyes when Camila’s nose nudges her arms upwards, small licks tickling her wrist before the wolf let up on the weight pressed on her stomach.

 

Another was when she’s making breakfast, Camila’s slightly wet fur from the shower circling Lauren’s legs as Camila rubs her torso against the human.

 

And then there was before Lauren left for work, when Lauren came home from work, when she was doing her hair in front of the bathroom mirror—and Lauren lost count then.

 

She’s not surprised when Camila stands at full height, paws resting against the window as she traps Lauren against the car door, licking a wet stripe on the side of Lauren’s neck.

 

Lauren wasn’t even offended when she and Normani arrived at the camping grounds of the preserve with Camila glued to her side, and Dinah’s first comment was: “Sheesh, Lauser, you reek.”

 

Her glare to Camila goes unnoticed by the wolf as Camila trots away, coming up to a woman Lauren’s never seen before, who’s apparently been staring at her for a long while now.

 

Said woman glides on the forest floor, people stopping to bow their head lightly as her and Camila pass by, making a beeline to where Lauren is, Dinah’s arm looping around Normani’s waist as she grins widely.

 

“I don’t believe we’ve met yet,” the woman says, an hand outstretched as Camila returns to Lauren’s side. “I’m Sinuhe Cabello but call me Sinu,” she says, the same time Lauren takes her hand, the palm warm and soft. “Camila and Sofi’s mother.”

 

Oh.

 

Lauren did not anticipate that she’ll be meeting Camila’s mother, holy shit.

 

“I’m, uh, Lauren,” she says, voice shaking as a man suddenly appears beside Camila’s mom. “I’m Camila’s—“

 

“You smell like my daughter,” the man says, interrupting Lauren with a gentle smile that lilts up to something suspiciously close to a smirk. “I’m Alejandro, the father, but you can call me Ale if you want.”

 

And to add more fuel to Lauren’s current state of fluster, a running Sofi comes barreling against Lauren’s legs, giggly and sweaty from playing with the other kids. “She’s Kaki’s mate!” is what Sofi says.

 

Now Lauren’s well-versed with how werewolf hearing works and she doubts no one in the entire preserve, even including humans, missed that.

 

Oh, god. This is going to be a long night.

 

//

 

By the time Camila actually managed to leave Lauren alone, Lauren’s positive that she—for the lack of proper term—reeks of Camila and that her pants are full of wolf fur sticking at every inch.

 

There’s a long table on the side where the food’s being kept and three separate grills with people working on them, a large bonfire in the middle of the clearing with logs scattered around as people laugh into the sunset, the full moon peeking from the clouds.

 

“So, Lauren,” Sinu starts, watches as Sofi wriggles from underneath Lauren’s arm as she runs off to play with the others. “I’m sure you have questions?”

 

Lauren sets her plate down on her lap, eyes drifting to where Dinah and Normani are cuddled up close to them, not taking part of the conversation but listening.

 

“If you don’t mind me asking, then yes.”

 

Sinu smiles at her, the skin of at the side of her eyes crinkling, and deep brown eyes that looks a whole lot like Camila stares back at her. “Where do you want to start?”

 

Green eyes finds Camila’s from the other side of the fire. Camila’s with the younger pups, the first-time shifters, and nudges them this way and that as they grow accustomed to having a body on four legs before partaking at the run.

 

“Maybe with your family?” Lauren asks softly.

 

Sinu laughs. “I’m not a were,” she says, looking at Lauren’s surprised expression before she starts. “When you mate with a wolf, like I did, you’re not a wolf and a human. I’m not entirely sure with it either, but if you’re compatible with the wolf that decides to take you on as a mate, you become something in between. We’re called non-shifters—humans that were taken as mates but weren’t turned and has some abilities like a were’s.”

 

Alejandro swoops in, arm landing against his wife’s shoulder as he takes it as his cue to continue. “The Cabello pack came from Cuba originally. I moved my family to Florida when Karla was young in hopes of expanding our pack. And now look at us—“ he says, gesturing to the different faces scattered everywhere that looks at them with the prompt, all smiling softly, raising glasses, and hollering. “We’re not just a pack, we’re family.” Alejandro then turns to Lauren, looking her in the eyes. “And now, Camila’s her own alpha, moved here to make her own pack and now she has you.”

 

The sun’s barely peeking out of the tree tops, the sky turning into a dark shade of blue, before Lauren asks: “Can I ask if you know the reason why Camila won’t shift?”

 

Sinu sighs, Ale pressing a kiss to the crown of her head as he leaves with a it’s getting dark, I need to round the people up before the run. “Do you know about hunters, Lauren?”

 

There’s a sudden chill that drops the length of Lauren’s spine, straightening her back out as the bonfire crackles, the shadows of flames licking against the side of Sinu’s face. “I’ve heard of them, but Camila’s the first werewolf I know so I don’t really…” she trails off, feeling the weight of Camila’s stare from all the way from the other side of the clearing.

 

“When Sofi was younger, a group of hunters came by our territory down at Florida, demanding that we leave or else they’ll be forced to make us.” Sinu’s eyes found her younger daughter who’s stuck to Alejandro’s side, laughing together as people around them do the same. “Karla got held back at school that time because the principal wanted to talk to her about a scholarship, so she got late to picking Sofia up from her school.”

 

Sinu takes a breath in before she turns to the fire. “Did you know, that werewolves tend to have their senses dull when shifted as a human? It’s still there, but much more weaker than when they’re shifted. By that time, Karla was smelling wolfsbane, a flower used to lace with bullets or knives to weaken werewolves—generally used by hunters—but she didn’t realize it in time.”

 

Lauren lets out a shuddering breath, feeling tendrils of panic lace her fingertips despite it happening years ago and not to her. “That’s…” she says, Sinu looking at her knowingly and reaches out a hand as she soothes Lauren.

 

“She got a scar on her leg from where the knife dragged down, but the hunters got apprehended at the end, but our Karla’s shifts more often than not since then, especially when she’s with her sister.”

 

A loud boom of laughter erupts from the other side of the clearing where half-naked people starts shifting, Lauren watching with fascination as everyone shifts into elegant colors of the earth, noticing Camila striding towards her.

 

“Well, looks like that’s our cue,” Dinah says from where she’s sitting on the ground, taking off her shirt and passing it to Normani. She shifts, eyes flashing blue, and there’s a blonde wolf licking at the side of Normani’s face.

 

“You can run with them, you know,” Sinu says, standing up and patting the dust off from her pants as Camila stops in front of them. “It’s really fun.” She sends Lauren a wink, walking away and leaving Lauren and Normani in front of two wolves.

 

Lauren turns to her best friend, already reaching out to touch Camila’s fur. “Want to run?” She asks, feeling excitement build up in her body as Camila softly runs her snout against Lauren’s wrist, teeth clamping lightly against the skin as she drags Lauren to where the other wolves are.

 

Camila goes to the front of the pack, Lauren huddled with Normani at the middle of wolves looking on at Camila.

 

And then a howl fills up the night.

 

Lauren shudders, eyes never leaving the expanse of Camila’s form as she throws her head back, howling loudly into the night and the others joining in, a beautiful chorus of howls echoing through the woods.

 

And then the wolves ran.

 

//

 

No.

 

Lauren is not lost.

 

That’s what she’s been telling herself for the past ten minutes.

 

She lost Normani just as the wolves ran, her feet carrying her deep into the forest and not even looking back as she feels the forest beneath her feet. A whole pack running with her before they all scatter in different directions.

 

The night’s beautiful, the moon peeking out of the tops of the trees and touches the forest ground in a reverent way that makes Lauren want to stay in this moment. If not for the fact that she’s kind of lost and probably has been walking in circles.

 

Damn it, why did she have to run so far?

 

A form of a wolf comes out of Lauren’s right, and she instantly recognizes it as Camila.

 

And there’s a…oh god, there’s a dead rabbit dangling out of Camila’s mouth, the wolf’s eyes red and claws extended. Blood’s dripping from Camila’s mouth, dropping to the forest floor, and matting the fur on the wolf’s side of her mouth.

 

Camila takes a few steps closer, dropping the rabbit in front of Lauren, and then she steps back, red eyes watching eerily from the shadow of a large tree.

 

“Uh,” Lauren says, stepping closer and dropping to her knees to poke at the dead rabbit. “, you killed it, that’s for sure.” She said, meeting Camila’s eyes and noting the way the wolf’s watching her intently, eyes glued to the hand that touched the rabbit. “Is this for me?” When she receives a small nod, red eyes not leaving hers, Lauren lets a smile slip out.

 

She doesn’t know what this means, but she stretches a hand out and Camila immediately nuzzles against it, a low growl rumbling from the wolf’s chest. “As much as I appreciate this, I don’t really know what to do with this. Thank you, though.”

 

Camila huffs, eyes turning brown for a bit before returning red, leading Lauren towards the trees.

 

A slight breeze sweeps against the forest, swaying the trees, and—

 

Lauren runs.

 

She laughs, legs sinking against the soft forest floor, calves burning as she hears Camila running behind her, chasing her. Lauren feels the breeze hit her face, laughing harder at the way Camila tries to nip at her legs as they run, watching as the moonlight plays with them and lights Lauren’s way.

 

Lauren turns her head, noting that nothing’s chasing her as she catches her breath, and then she feels herself falling.

 

//

 

There’s a dull pounding at the back of Lauren’s head, a pair of warm hands turning her head this way and that. She wants to tell the person to be gentle, wanting to say that her head hurts and she feels like there’s a party inside her head with how badly its pounding.

 

“—Lauren, come on, stay with me—“

 

Who’s that? Lauren thinks, closing her eyes tightly as she feels a sharp throb of pain surge up to her head. She immediately stops thinking.

 

“—fuck. Lo, I need you to wake up for me, love, come on—“

 

Whoever you are, you can call me love anytime you want. Lauren feels herself smiling, hands reaching out only to reach a sharp cheekbone and a warm body.

 

“…keep talking…” The voice that escapes Lauren is hoarse, dry from running and tired from the sudden exhaustion. “You have a nice voice—“

 

And then Lauren thinks she passed out.

 

//

 

It’s been three days since the run and Camila’s been doting on Lauren ever since.

 

The wolf never allows Lauren to leave the bed on the first day and Lauren couldn’t complain when she can’t even lift herself up from the bed. Ears straining as she listens to Camila checking on her every once in a while, Ally’s voice drifting form different parts of her apartment as she cooks for Lauren, probably under Camila’s request.

 

Lauren suffered from a mild concussion and she’s been on a sick leave from work until the weekend, just to make sure that she won’t pass out anytime during the day.

 

Right now, she’s enjoying a refreshing hot bath with Ally’s insistent Mila told me to tell you that you need the relaxation and to come out whenever you’re ready.

 

Lauren hears the front door open, Ally’s voice ringing through the apartment with a I’ll be going now, Laur, call me if you need anything, just as she tugs a shirt of her body, wet strands of her hair soaking up the fabric as she pads outside of her bedroom to see…a pillow fort.

 

Camila’s sitting by the entrance of the fort, couch rearranged and pillows littered everywhere. Lauren laughs, getting on her knees to crawl into the fort.

 

Her laptop’s perched on a pillow, a bowl of popcorn next to it and a couple bottle of energy drink that Lauren’s been consuming for the past few days.

 

“You’re such a sap,” Lauren chuckles, watching as Camila arranges herself so that her head’s resting on top of Lauren’s stomach, facing the screen and the line of her warm body relaxed against the soft pillows. “But thank you.” Pale hands rakes against the fur on top of a wolf’s head, Lauren feeling the vibration of Camila’s purr against her torso.

 

Her phone lights up as a movie loads up, Camila not sparing a glance, eyes on the screen.

 

**_Ally 5:21PM_ **

_Mila told me about the rabbit thing during the run, btw_

_And for your sake, I’ll tell you what it means_

_It’s usually a form of courting between wolves_

_One offers something as a sign of providing_

_That they can take care of their desired mate_

_Have fun with your movie night!_

 

Lauren blames it on Ally when she can’t concentrate on the movie.

 

They both wake up early the next morning, Lauren’s arms curled around a paw, Camila resting half of her body on top of Lauren’s, cuddled next to each other inside a collapsing pillow fort, and Lauren realizes how much she likes being with Camila.

 

//

 

Normani crinkles her nose the moment Lauren enters the diner.

 

“Hey, traffic was being an ass, sorry if I’m late.” Is what Lauren says at the same time Normani says—

 

“Wow, Dinah’s right, you do stink of Camila.”

 

Lauren couldn’t help but gape at her best friend, ass not even touching the red fabric of the diner’s booth, and she already knows that she’ll be spending at least three hours of grilling her best friend before she’s even done.

 

“You mated with Dinah?”

 

Her best friend shrugs, blush already forming high on her cheeks, taking a sip of her coffee and trying to regain her composure. Lauren sees the exact moment Normani becomes smug, watches as a smirk stretches against her best friend’s lips.

 

“What can I say, the run did wonderful things.” Normani says, laughing at Lauren’s explosion of how, when, why and a softly embarrassed can you give me, like, tips or something?

 

They didn’t leave the cafe until six hours later, Normani feeling positively giddy and wanting to share this particular information with her girlfriend and Lauren’s head feels like exploding with the suddenness of everything in her best friend’s sex life.

 

You learn something new everyday.

 

//

 

Camila’s lounging on Dinah’s bed, watching as the blonde tries on different outfits.

 

“You do know that choosing an outfit’s kind of useless at this point, right?” Camila drawls, watching her best friend upside down as her head dangles from the edge of the bed. “You two will just fuck after a pretense of a dinner date, anyway,” she smirks when Dinah coughs, blushing and throws away another piece of shirt.

 

Dinah clears her throat, hands on her hips as she stares down her best friend. “So, how’s being an asshole like?” She asks, eyebrows raised and expression cocky.

 

Camila sits up on the bed, crossing her legs as she glares at her best friend. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

“Oh you know,” Dinah turns around, pulling a pair of ripped skinny jeans on. “, the scenting Lauren like you’re in rut thing.”

 

Both wolves stop, eyes catching on the calendar at Dinah’s room. It’s fucking October.

 

“Uh,” Camila mutters, feeling her mouth dry up at the sudden realization.

 

“Fuck,” Dinah sighs, dropping another shirt on the floor. “You’re starting your rut and you don’t even know it. Good going, Chanch.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HERE IT ISSSSS!!!! i hope this kind of debunks the reason why camz won’t shift back, and if you’ve got any prompts you want me to do, don’t go shy on me now!!
> 
> i actually posted this a few days ago but it was on wattpad because ao3 was down for a while sooooo im uploading this before i pass out lol
> 
> thanks for reading and have a good one!!


	8. daughter of the moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jealous camren (either) by Jastilers, rut talk by Emukas22, “i wanna see Camila get kind of aggressive as she's in her rut or something. Like get more demanding and end up making Lauren flustered I guess?” prompt by Tabby, “lauren and camila trick or treating, and camila's in her wolf form, and they go into a haunted house and get trapped in a room together ;)))” by bloombello, drunk lauren meeting human camila ft. jauregui sibs by t1nytr33—again, all prompts went crazy with my overly-fluffy ass im so sorry xx

//

 

i’ll just clear up something real quick xx

 

the cabello pack was mainly from cuba that moved to miami for pack expanding issues. camila and sofi were both raised to become pack leaders, even when sofi presented as a beta. prior to the sofi incident explained in the last chapter, camila was supposed to inherit the cabello pack at miami, but then she resolved to take in more pack members to help ensure the safety of her family. thus, renouncing her inheritance to the miami pack, and starting her own. (still under the cabello name, don’t worry)

 

from the very beginning, ally has always been tied with the pack despite being human. and dinah, being a beta, heard about the cabello pack’s alpha daughter looking for pack members so her family flies her to miami and helps her get settled in the new pack, happy to help.

 

that’s how the three of them moved to LA with ally’s dad as the pack emissary and ally is his apprentice in training. (let me know if u have any pack member nominees and also for ally’s love interest). and that during the last run, the cabello pack flew to LA because it’s the last full-moon run before rutting season (sorrz i forgot to put it in the AN, but yeahh)

 

i think that’s all i wanted to clear up, so enjoy!! xx

 

//

 

The past few days, in Dinah’s opinion, has been a complete _cluster-fuck_.

 

She sighs, running a hand through her hair as the wind blows against it, keeping her hands busy and to _not_ reach into her pocket where it’s been making noise for the past hour. Dinah doesn’t even glance at the screen and yet she _knows_ it’s Lauren bombarding her phone.

 

Since the past few days, really. The human’s been up on her and Ally’s asses, and Dinah’s currently at the driveway of the reason why.

 

“Open the fucking door, Chancho,” Dinah says, refraining herself from just crashing the door like last time. She’d really rather not put her ass through the experience of getting dragged down the gravel driveway by an angry alpha, especially not one too close to her rut.

 

Werewolf healing abilities be damned, Dinah still didn’t like it.

 

“Go away, Dinah,” is the response Dinah hears and judging by the distance of where the voice came from, it must be at the alpha’s bedroom.

 

Living up to the stereotype of a brooding alpha, Camila owns her bungalow deep in the preserve, log cabin style and all that shit. She says it’ll be a common space for when their pack eventually grows, having three spare bedrooms, a large den-slash-living room, and a kitchen with an oven that Ally absolutely takes advantage of whenever the alpha lets them over.

 

For now, it’s Camila’s personal wolf-cave, for the lack of better term, but still provides a two-bedroom apartment for Dinah and Ally in the city, and the café with a small flat as the second floor for Ally’s Dad. She _is_ still the alpha after all. Camila still provides for her small pack in ways her part in the family’s ancient money can buy.

 

Dinah knocks a tune on the door. “ _Do you wanna build a_ —you know what? Unless you have another way of telling me to fuck off, try not to let it sound like we’re reenacting _Frozen_ ,” the beta huffs, listening to for any footsteps inside the house. She sighs, pulling out the _low-blow_ card. “If you don’t open this door, I’ll call Sinu and tell you’re abandoning your mate.”

 

A sudden gust of air passes Dinah’s face as the door opens right after the last word dropped from her mouth, an angry looking Camila on the other side of the door.

 

Dinah lowers her eyes, subtly showing her neck as a sign of submission, and releasing a sigh of relief as she hears the alpha let out a breath, huffing a _as if I’ll abandon my mate_ , footsteps echoing into the hardwood floor as Camila pads inside.

 

“So,” Dinah starts, shoving her feet underneath herself as she seats on the couch, Camila scowling at the carpet she’s pacing at. “, want to tell me why your better half’s been asking where you were these past days?”

 

Camila stops pacing, looking at Dinah with a mix of nervousness and exasperation. “I’m having my rut, Dinah,” she deadpans, looking at her beta straight in the face.

 

“And?” Dinah cajoles, flipping her hair away from her face before checking her nails. “, doesn’t explain why you’ve been MIA.”

 

The alpha finally plops down on the other couch, head thrown back, staring at the ceiling and the shadows playing there. “You know how alphas get during ruts, Cheech,” she says, sounding defeated. “I don’t want to risk hurting Lauren.”

 

There were numerous reports of alphas being violent and even borderline feral during their rut. And while werewolves are known to be loyal to their mates or even potential mates, that’s the exact point—an alpha’s mate often receives the blunt end of the rut. It’s the picture-perfect of the alpha Camila’s scared she could become.

 

Being a descendant of the Cabello pack, there’s ancient blood running through her veins—to the point that no one actually _knows_ the extent of their capabilities.

 

That, in it’s own, is enough to scare Camila in hopes of not finding her own mate.

 

And yet she’s grocery shopping one afternoon a few weeks after they moved to L.A., she caught a whiff of a scent that sent her reeling, Lauren standing a few aisles over, brows furrowed as she checks the expiration date of two breads.

 

And that’s how she started building up the courage to talk to the human, only to find herself in the presence of a very drunk Lauren. The rest is history.

 

Dinah’s phone goes of again with another notification, the blonde wolf rolling her eyes at the screen and flipping it to shove against Camila’s face. “ _This_ ,” she says, letting Camila’s eyes wander on to onslaught of messages left by Lauren. “, is what you did. I know you’re scared with your rut—hell, I can only imagine it—but you’re also the most self righteous alpha I know.” Dinah smiles at her best friend and alpha reassuringly, crinkling her nose. “Don’t keep her waiting, bud. You know you can, like, text her right? Just because we’re werewolves doesn’t mean you need to be stuck at ancient times. You’re phone’s dusting over, I swear.”

 

//

 

Camila doesn’t know how long she’s been staring at the device in her hand.

 

She’s familiar with how to use a phone— _Spotify_ is her _life_. But she’s just not well-versed on how one sends a _text_. Especially to a potential mate that’s apparently worried for days that— _yeah_. Camila’s clueless.

 

There’s a snort of a laughter coming from the other couch, Dinah trying to muffle it by shoving a handful of cookies into her mouth, mouthing a _what_ at the disgruntled alpha and spilling crumbs everywhere.

 

It pains Camila to ask, knowing that her best friend won’t let her live this down, but she still puts the phone down, shoulders sagging as she sinks into the cushions. “Dinah,” she starts, already feeling the giddiness radiating off of the beta in waves. “, how the fuck do I start?”

 

And so, the resultive text message was sent:

 

**_Camila Cabello 9:47AM_ **

_hello_

 

//

 

It’s a Friday, meaning Lauren’s stuck in her office but her mind’s going haywire over worrying about Camila. She doesn’t know _where_ the wolf is and while she trusts Camila, Lauren’s not quite sure with what to do with the worrying feeling of not knowing where she is.

 

Over the course of the past few days, she thinks she’s already worn off Ally and Dinah with information about the alpha. Dinah being the last to text her back with a vague _I’ll see what she’s up to_.

 

**_Unknown Number_ _9:47AM_**

_hello_

 

An unknown number is contacting you. Mark as spam?

Yes or No

**No**

 

**_Lauren Jauregui 9:47AM_ **

_Hi. Who’s this?_

 

**_Unknown Number 9:48AM_ **

_it’s camila_

_dinah said you’re looking for me…?_

 

 _Holy fuck_. Lauren only heard the other woman’s voice from the hum a couple of months ago, when Camila shifted in the bathroom to brush her teeth, but _somehow_ Lauren reads the text in what she hopes to be is Camila’s voice.

 

Lauren figures she took too long to reply—she’s too baffled with the fact that her _Camila_ is texting her—so she jumps when her phone dings with another notification.

 

_Unknown Number changed Lauren Jauregui’s name to Lo_

 

Blinking, Lauren thinks her thumbs couldn’t have typed any faster.

 

_Lauren Jauregui changes Unknown Number’s name to Camz_

 

It’s so oddly endearing and cute that Lauren spins around in her office chair, phone clutched tightly against her chest, giggles spilling off the corner of her mouth.

 

**_Camz 9:52AM_ **

_are you still there?_

 

Lauren settles her feet back onto the ground, hair cascading over her phone as she tries to gain a semblance of privacy when her co-workers looked at her funny. Biting her lip, she replies.

 

**_Lo 9:53AM_ **

_Yeah, sorry, just a bit surprised that you messaged me._

 

Putting her phone down but screen facing up, Lauren tries to get a few more sentences deep into her new article, eyes glancing every now and then to the three dots jumping up and down her screen. Her eyebrows meet in the middle when she realizes Camila takes way too long to reply.

 

**_Camz 10:01AM_ **

_im sorry_

_should i have not?_

 

 _What?_ Lauren scrolls back, tries to see if she missed a big part of the conversation until— _oh_. Her last reply could’ve been interpreted the wrong way. Is it wrong for Lauren to laugh at how inept the werewolf seem to be at texting? It’s still endearing to her, though. Makes her giddy with the information that Camila used a means of communication she’s not overly familiar with.

 

But then that thought throws Lauren for a loop. _Why won’t she just come see me, then?_

 

**_Lo 10:03AM_ **

_Nonononono, that’s not what I meant, Camz._

_You can totally message me anytime you want :)_

_But speaking of which...where are you right now?_

 

Biting her lip, Lauren decides that _fuck it_.

 

**_Lo 10:03AM_ **

_I miss you_

 

//

 

Dinah stops munching with a mouthful of cookies when she hears her best friend let out a _very_ unlikely squeal, falling sideways against the couch, looking flustered and a blush coloring high in her cheeks.

 

“You alright there, lady lover?” She teases, laughing when Camila let out a breath that ended with a small smile catching her lips. Camila makes no move to answer her, so Dinah takes it upon herself to remove herself from the comfortable position she found herself in and snatches Camila’s phone off of her hands. Dinah snorts. “You guys are cheesy as fuck.”

 

“What do I say,” Camila whines, turning so that she face plants against a pillow, legs stretching and throwing off a couple of couch pillows.

 

“She asked you where you are, start with answering that question,” Dinah distractedly replies, eyes trained on her own phone with a giddy smile on her face.

 

“Huh,” Camila rolls over again, staring at the screen of her phone.

 

**_Camz 10:09AM_ **

_youre at work, right?_

 

**_Lo 10:13AM_ **

_Yup. And you already know what time I get off, so._

_Why’d you ask?_

 

**_Camz 10:13AM_ **

_im at my home_

_it’s, uh, at the preserve_

_you can come by tonight…?_

_i’ll cook if you like_

 

Camila waits, waits, and waits. She thinks she’s never waited for someone’s text this anxiously before.

 

**_Lo 10:18AM_ **

_Sure!!!_

_What should I bring?_

 

**_Camz 10:18AM_ **

_just you, im more than fine with that_

_and i miss you too_

_:)_

 

//

 

The sun’s just starting to set and the only instructions Lauren got was _just park where you usually do, Alex will help you find my home_.

 

“Hey, Mila’s expecting you,” a guy wearing a ranger uniform with brown shaggy hair approached Lauren, extending a hand to shake, and the rose tattoo at the back of his hand that Lauren didn’t miss. “I’m Alex, park ranger, and also a friend of Mila.”

 

She smiles politely at him. “Lauren. Nice to meet you.” Alex leads them to a golf cart, patting the seat next to him as her drives into the woods.

 

“I was surprised when Mila called into our office earlier and told us someone’s coming over,” Alex started the conversation, taking a few twists and turns through out the carefully worn out road. “The only visitors she’s got over the months she moved here was her family and pack,” he says, tongue poking out as he smiles at Lauren with a sideway glance. “You must be special, huh?”

 

Lauren feels her face flush hot with the implication, always remembering how others refer to as Camila’s mate. “She’s, uh,” she tries to get the words out, finally settling with: “They say I’m her mate and I, uh, don’t really know…how? Like how it works?”

 

Alex laughs, head thrown back, slapping the steering wheel once in glee. “Mm-hmm,” he hums, looking positively amused with the blush on Lauren’s face. “Don’t worry, I can smell her off of you. And you don’t have to do anything, wolves usually do the courting, all you have to do is to either accept them or not.” He explains, cursing under his breath as he narrowly misses a large rock on the road. “But nothing’s really solid until you mated, so.”

 

Lauren’s suddenly taken back to the last brunch she had with her best friend. _Normani had sex with Dinah, so that means they’re mated, right?_

 

(“You mated with Dinah?!”

 

“Don’t act so surprised, Laur. And yes, technically we’re married…? In werewolf culture, any way.”

 

“And you’re _okay_ with that? Isn’t it too early?”

 

“I should be freaking out, aren’t I? But honestly, I’m not. It’s like more like a _finally_ than anything else, really.”

 

“So the thing you said about me smelling like Camila…?”

 

“Is true. You reek of her—or what I imagine is her scent anyway. It’s like wrapped around you like a protective glove, like a warning to other wolves that you’re already someone’s potential mate.”

 

“So. You’re a non-shifter now?”

 

“I can fucking _smell_ colors, Laur. I feel like I’m tripping on the best weed.”)

 

Lauren’s jolted back to the present when the golf cart jumped as it rolled over a rock. She looked over at Alex, trying to figure out if he’s a wolf or a non-shifter. So she asks.

 

Alex laughs, golf-cart slowing down in what seems like the start of a driveway. “Non-shifter, my boyfriend, Jack, is a wolf. But he’s from another neighboring pack. Camila’s cool with it, so.” Lauren gets off the cart, watching as Alex turns it around. “I’m usually at the office by the preserve’s parking most working hours, you can come by if you want to ask something. Have a fun evening!”

 

She watches on as the cart turns and disappears. Lauren knows, without a doubt, that they’re at the very heart of the preserve, trees dense and stretching on for miles. The driveway’s a short walk and it helps the sudden butterflies hammering in her stomach.

 

Lauren rings the doorbell, finding the door to be opened by no other than Dinah.

 

“Don’t worry, I’m just here to taste-test. Mila did all the cooking,” the words spill out of Dinah’s mouth, moving fast as she tugs off her clothes. “And she’s by the couch in the den, shouldn’t be that hard to miss since it’s massive. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, kids!”

 

Staring wide-eyes, Lauren watches from the still open front door as Dinah walks down the driveway naked, shifting until there’s a large blonde wolf at the line of trees, winking back at Lauren once, and then she’s off. _Wow_ , Lauren thinks she should get used to naked-shifting people from now on.

 

Taking off her shoes, Lauren decides to make her presence known even though she’s most certain Camila can smell her the moment she got off her car at the entrance.

 

“Camz?” There’s a faint scent of herbs and freshly cooked meat that immediately draws Lauren in, following the aroma. “Oh, Dinah’s right.” Just turning the corner, Lauren’s faced with two large couches with a bunch of bean bags littered around, a large television hung on the wall, the wolf peeking at her from the top of a couch, and two plates of food on the coffee table. “The living room’s hard to miss,” Lauren clarifies, dropping her bag at the side of the couch, sitting beside Camila. “Hey there.”

 

Camila responds with resting her head against Lauren’s lap, rubbing the side of her face against the soft fabric of Lauren’s shirt before huffing loudly. Jumping off of the couch, Lauren tries to follow with her eyes where the wolf’s heading to, hearing a door open and then something that sounds like a closet.

 

The wolf comes back to the den, a bunched up fabric clenched between her canines. “What’s that?” Lauren asks, pouring herself some wine opened on the table.

 

Releasing the fabric onto Lauren’s lap, Camila watches as Lauren pulls it up. “A hoodie?” Lauren asks, looking at Camila for further instructions. Camila bites at the fabric of Lauren’s shirt, tugging in emphasis. “You want me to change?”

 

When Lauren made a move to stand up, she feels a paw pushing her to sit back down. “I thought you wanted me to change?” She sees the wolf nod once, eyes set on Lauren’s and— _oh_. “You, uh, you want me to change here? In front of you?”

 

The wolf doesn’t provide any more answer than a slow blink as if telling Lauren _mm-hmm._

 

“Okay, then,” Lauren mumbles more to herself, growing self-conscious as she pulls her shirt over her head.

 

And then suddenly, Lauren feels Camila’s fur gliding against her stomach, scenting and rubbing against her. She stays still and lets Camila do her thing, secretly pleased that the wolf’s bothered with the lack of her own scent against Lauren’s skin.

 

The next thing Camila does makes Lauren jump in her seat.

 

There’s a rough tongue licking a wet stripe starting dangerously close to the hem of Lauren’s jeans, all the way near the bottom of her sternum, her bra nudging against Camila’s nose, making the wolf huff against her skin at the interrupted scenting, Lauren’s hair standing on end with the sudden gust of warm breath against her skin.

 

“Uh,” Lauren clears her throat, pulling the hoodie against her chest from where its been lying beside her, Camila blinking as she registers the fabric obstructing her from scenting Lauren’s skin. “I think I smell like you enough, Camz.”

 

She pulls the hoodie on, a scent washes over Lauren that makes her feel warm. “Is this yours?” she asks, watches as Camila finally lounges on her side of the couch, a noticeable able smirk under her fur. “Don’t look so smug.”

 

Dinner was _great_. Lauren had to ask in between every other bite if Camila really made it to which she earns a tail hitting her side. _Armageddon_ plays on the TV, the plates been cleared out by Lauren, and she’ll deny that she’s been taking sniffs off of Camila’s hoodie for the whole evening.

 

Nails hitting the hardwood floor reaches Lauren’s ears, Camila coming back with a piece of paper in her mouth, holding it up for Lauren.

 

_I hope you liked dinner. And if it’s not too much to ask, can you stay over?_

 

Lauren holds up the paper with Camila’s handwriting, grinning wide, she puts it away inside her handbag for safe keeping. “Sleepover it is.”

 

Camila huffs out what sounds like a laugh, but motions the remote towards Lauren to turn off the TV, strutting towards what Lauren assumes to be her room.

 

To call it a master’s bedroom can be an understatement.

 

Lauren thinks her entire apartment can fit inside Camila’s bedroom.

 

(She’s kidding.)

 

(Maybe. There’s still room to test that theory.)

 

And before Lauren can sit down on the comfy looking king-sized bed, Camila’s pushing her towards a walk-in closet. There’s a paper taped to the mirror, a _change into something you’re comfortable with, you can use my clothes_ written in Camila’s handwriting and a messy smiley face on the lowest part of the paper

 

So Lauren goes crazy. She shuts the closet door and then proceeds to raid Camila’s wardrobe—the other woman’s into crop tops and skinny jeans, Lauren keeps this information—and takes out a large comfy looking shirt as well as sleep shorts that’s a size too small for Lauren. She also eyes a bunch of fancy looking suits lined up at the farthest corner of the closet, wondering if she can snag a button-up shirt in the future for a cliché _just got fucked by a stud_ look.

 

Lauren hopes Camila’s into that sort of thing because she certainly is.

 

The wolf’s already lounging on one side of the bed, head perking up when Lauren comes out of the closet and following every move of the older woman.

 

“I’ll wash these at my apartment don’t worry,” Lauren stands at the foot of the bed, folding the sleeves on the shirt she borrowed, smirking at the obvious rapt attention Camila has on her. “Where’s the bathroom?”

 

When Lauren comes back to the bedroom, it’s Camila’s turn to use the bathroom so she busies herself with getting acquainted with the soft looking bed and _oh my god_ , it’s really soft.

 

It’s really not her fault when Camila comes back from brushing her teeth, swiping her paws against the bathroom mat, she comes back to a passed out Lauren in the middle of her bed.

 

Camila shakes her head because _goddamnit_ , she thinks she loves Lauren.

 

//

 

 

 

There’s fur inside Lauren’s mouth.

 

She tries to move a hand but then realizes that she’s completely covered with what seems like twice her body weight of pure _wolf_. Staring at the ceiling, Lauren concentrates on blowing the fur out of her mouth while trying to keep her breathing shallow as to not wake the wolf.

 

Birds are chirping outside, the natural sunlight filtering through the glass windows of Camila’s bedroom but the trees outside provide enough shade that the light isn’t too much—just perfect—and Lauren wonders when was the last time she woke up this well-rested and so in touch with nature.

 

Granted, she feels like she’s more of an ocean person—Lauren prides herself as a moon person too, and there’s something about how the moon’s gravity pushes and pulls at the ocean’s tides that _really_ gets to her—but she won’t mind being at the center of towering trees, feeling like the slow pulse of the filtering sunlight on the trees cascading shadows is the forest’s heartbeat.

 

 _Wow_ , barely awake for five minutes and Lauren feels like she’s a philosophy major.

 

Nature’s getting to her, damnit.

 

She feels Camila’s ears perk up, tickling her nose as Lauren turns her head away. Camila plops her head back down against the side of Lauren’s neck, her breathing slowly deepens and Lauren thinks she fell asleep again. Which she hopes didn’t happen because one, she’ll have major stiff neck issues later, and two, she really needs to pee.

 

The sound of the front door opening alarms Lauren but when the wolf makes no move to get off of her, she tries her best to peek when the door suddenly opens.

 

“Oh good, you’re decent,” Dinah drawls, leaving the door open, Normani and Ally peeking their heads through the doorway after Dinah’s remark.

 

“God, I can’t even imagine what you’ll smell like once you’re mates, Laur,” Normani’s voice betrays a giggle forcing its way out of her lips. “You already smell like you’ve been going at it for weeks.”

 

Ally shushes the both, closing the bedroom door a bit as she shoos Dinah and Normani away. “Mila, we’re going to the mall in an hour, is it cool for me to use your kitchen?”

 

When Ally receives a nod—that Lauren’s sure only made the wolf burrow deeper against her neck—Ally fucking _skips_ to the kitchen, humming under her breath and telling Normani that _prepare your taste buds, peasant._

 

“Camz,” Lauren whines, squirming underneath Camila as she wriggles away. “, we’re leaving, I need to take a bath.” Camila’s head perked up at this, hopping off of Lauren so fast and pushing Lauren to her closet once more. “You do realize that I’ll be taking, like, all of the soft shirts you got, right?”

 

Camila watches Lauren pick her outfit for the day using her clothes, snorting out a laugh when Lauren thinks she’s being sneaky with snatching another hoodie off of the hanger. The way Camila practically lets Lauren have free reign on which clothes to wear and take makes Lauren melt because another dream of hers is to wear her partners clothes without any repercussion.

 

And hey, kind-of-dating an always naked werewolf suddenly gained a perk.

 

//

 

Turns out they’re going halloween shopping and Lauren’s hating it so far.

 

Camila stayed behind at the parking lot because apparently, the mall has a policy against shifted werewolves. So unless Camila shifts back, she’ll have to stay outside. And Lauren’s not selfish enough to tell the wolf to shift _just_ for shopping. Not when Camila’s not ready yet, anyway.

  
And it sucks because Lauren sees these cute little things inside every store Dinah drags them into and she settles with taking the item to the nearest window, knowing Camila’s somewhere nearby at whichever part of the mall they’re in, and she shows the wolf what the _cutest fucking item_ in the current store is and Camila will just wag her tail harder, a ghost of a smile masked under her fur.

 

One hour in, Lauren’s got a few Halloween themed cupcake sleeves and cookie cutters in her bag, when Dinah calls it quits.

 

(“Girl, you’ve been moping all day and it’s messing with my feng shui. Get yourself a crepe and let’s _go_.”

 

“Sorry Laur, she’s been watching too much on the Chinese channel.”)

 

Lauren sheepishly accepts the crumpled bill Dinah handed her, treating Lauren, feeling guilty that her sulking cut their trip to the mall. To which Ally reassured her with a _it’s okay, Lauren, we kinda barged in your day in so it’s only fair_.

 

But who knew that the kid—who’s probably barely eighteen—working at the stand start _hitting_ on her.

 

The other’s—Dinah—slung a _catch us at the parking lot, Lauser_ over her shoulder, leaving Lauren at the crepe stand.

 

“You’re really pretty,” he says, words rolling off of his tongue like a sentence he’d practiced for an hour in front of a mirror while using an Axe spray-on deodorant as a mic. He even _winks_ when Lauren catches him putting an obscene amount of strawberry in her crepe.

 

“Uh,” Lauren fumbles with the crumpled bill in her hand, accepting the crepe and brushing off the guy’s pick-up line about their hands sparking. Or something. “, thanks?”

 

She hurries away from the stand, heading for the exit right at the parking lot, only to find the kid catching up to her in long strides. Lauren picks up her pace, the Miami heat slapping her in the face as she exits the mall and sees her friends all standing around Ally’s car, the doors opened as they seemingly let the car’s heat escape.

 

“—and he’s been a real asshole but anyway, can I have your number?” Crepe boy asks, aiming for what seems to be a boyish grin that looks more like a grimace to Lauren as he squints against the afternoon sun.

 

“Sorry, I’m already in a relationship,” Lauren says—she _is_ , technically, right?—hoping for an apologetic smile, but the boy scoffs, rolling his eyes.

 

“Fucking waste of time.”

 

Lauren got a sudden flashback of how she woke up today with a werewolf on top of her that’s twice her weight, all ruffled fur and soft snores. _That_ doesn’t hold a candle against Camila at the moment: all pointy teeth and growly breath, hackles raised in a menacing snarl.

 

The boy underneath Camila whimpers, muttering _what the fuck_ over and over again. When the rancid stench of urine reaches Lauren’s nose, she decides to step in, minding not to step on the obvious puddle underneath the boy’s pants.

 

“Camz,” Lauren says, tugging lightly at the werewolf’s neck. “ _Camila_ ,” she repeats when the wolf makes no move of standing down. “, you just made the boy pee his pants, let’s just _go_.”

 

Camila’s growls deepens, clicking her teeth once at the boy’s face for good measure, before getting off of the kid, standing by Lauren’s side and pressed closely that her body heat seeps into Lauren’s jeans.

 

“Fucking psycho,” Lauren hears the boy mutter, running towards the mall with a dark stain on his pants when Camila fakes a pounce at him.

 

Three sets of eyes are staring at them, wide with shock. Ally and Dinah’s were mostly focused on Camila, disappointment lacing their features, as Camila pushes Lauren to get inside the backseat with her snout.

 

“Nah-uh, Ally, I drive,” Dinah says, already snatching the keys out of Ally’s hands and rounding towards the driver’s side. “I ain’t sitting in the backseat with that hot mess,” she gestures towards Camila who’s currently rubbing her face all over the top of Lauren’s head, a low growl resonating in the car.

 

“Shotgun!” Normani bursts, reaching towards the car door before Ally can even utter out a word.

 

Ally sighs, sitting beside Camila in the backseat, pressing herself closer to the window as possible as to not further rile up the alpha. “This is _my_ car, you know.”

 

//

 

“Is it just me or did you notice Chanch’s rut is more, hmm,” Dinah snacks on the cookie dough that Ally made as a test batch for her Halloween cookies, finding the right word to describe the alpha. “, _extra?_ Yeah, that’s it. It’s more extra this year.”

 

Ally sighs, watching as her dough got considerably less, turning the oven on. “Maybe it’s because her instincts are hurrying her up with mating?”

 

“Or maybe it’s because she’s _found_ her mate but they haven’t fucked yet?”

 

“ _Language_ ,” Ally chides, just as Normani turns the corner of Dinah and Ally’s shared apartment, curiosity written all over her face.

 

“You guys have been talking about it lately, but what’s a rut?” She asks, stepping inside the safe circle of Dinah’s arms as the wolf cuddles her from behind.

 

“It’s alpha werewolf stuff, you don’t need to worry your pretty face about it, babe,” Dinah says, nosing against Normani’s hairline. She feels the human stiffen in her arms, turning her head away as she stares her mate down.

 

“My _best_ friend is _with_ an alpha werewolf,” Normani says, the scent of her distress and anger filling Dinah’s nostrils, making her uneasy. “So _I_ you’ll tell me if it’s safe for me to leave my best friend with a werewolf who apparently gets more attached to its instincts at a particular time of the year or I will _fight_ you, DInah Jane.”

 

Normani’s fuming, Ally doesn’t know what to do with her hands, and Dinah’s a little bit turned on—“Babe, we’ll tell you, shit, chill,” Dinah says, placing her hands on Normani’s waist and rubbing soothingly. “Smallz, want to start?” Dinah’s eyes are wide with an unspoken plea, Ally helpless to the scared expression on her friend’s face.

 

“A rut, basically, happens to only alpha werewolves. No matter if they’re a pureblood or not, all alphas go through them.” Ally starts, separating the cookie dough into even scoops on top of her oiled wax paper. “It generally happens at fall and ends sometime around January, if I’m not mistaken.”

 

“What’s the point? Like, why is there a specific season for it?” Normani inquires, unconsciously pressing her back against Dinah’s front as the wolf’s arms settles around her waist in a loose embrace.

 

“It’s an ancient thing, but it’s four months of getting more attuned to the, uh, reproduction part of biology. Like, mates keep each other warm in the winter and then expect a baby sometime in the spring or summer—optimal time for a baby raising—or at least that’s what I know of it.” Dinah finishes, face open as she watches Normani file away the information.

 

“You don’t experience ruts?”

 

Dinah laughs, chest shaking with the movement. “I’m a beta, babe, so no on the rut. And from what Mila’s been telling me, I’m glad I’m not an alpha.”

 

“I don’t really get the werewolf gender hierarchy thing,” Normani pouts.

 

“Alphas are thought of as the most powerful gene, so they get ruts to ensure a next generation child from an alpha parent.” Ally explains, waving a batter wand around, the smell of pumpkin spice filling the kitchen.

 

“Oh!” Dinah jumps in her seat, slamming both hands on her mate’s shoulders. “, remember when we’re, uh, together after the pack run and we,” she pauses, glancing at Ally, before continuing at a quieter tone. “, when we came together and my eyes turned blue?” Dinah watches as a blush rises high on Normani’s cheekbones, knowing the exact moment her mate remembers. “That’s called imprinting. When a wolf chooses it’s mate during, uh, you know, they imprint. That’s the exact moment you turn into a non-shifter.”

 

“Wow.” Normani exhales in one breath, sagging against Dinah’s hold on her. “So that’ll happen to Laur, too?”

 

“It happens to every mate, babe.” Dinah says, pressing a soft kiss against Normani’s temple. “Except the rut part, but we can trust Mila, yeah?”

 

//

 

She doesn’t trust her friends’ judgement.

 

When Lauren failed to snag herself a costume the last mall trip they went together, Dinah told her on the drive back to her apartment that she’ll _handle it_.

 

It’s another hour before Lauren needs to meet up at Dinah and Ally’s apartment and she’s already changed into the costume Dinah had _delivered_ to her house a few minutes earlier with a note that says _so I’m sure you won’t be able to buy another one to wear_ with a cheeky wink face that Lauren’s fist crumbles when she sees the package.

 

“This is ridiculous.” Lauren sighs as she does a 360-twirl, the skirt she’s wearing fanning outwards. “This barely even covers my ass, for fuck’s sake.”

 

Lauren doesn’t know whether to be glad or not that Camila’s over at the beta’s apartment, Dinah telling her over text that the alpha’s having a costume that compliments Lauren’s own.

 

She takes in another view of her costume—a tight, blood red crop top with a hood and sleeves that barely goes past her elbows, and an extremely short black and red plaid skirt that, as stated before, doing no good at trying to cover her ass.

 

It doesn’t fly pass her head that Dinah basically dressed her up as the Red Riding Hood. An admittedly sexier, adult, and R-18 version of the bedtime story character, but still Red Riding Hood nonetheless.

 

Feeling like there’s a personalized super typhoon shoved up her ass as she walks, Lauren marches to her Uber in her sultry costume and the best heels she has to match it, the driving smiling at her knowingly with a _have a great night_ when he drops her off at Dinah and Ally’s apartment complex.

 

The others are already waiting for her at the parking lot, Ally voting they just walk the three blocks to the neighborhood that’s packed with college kids that throws parties and gives away candies (or other baked goods with home-grown herbs) to those that just wants to relive the feeling of trick or treating.

 

The first thing that Lauren notices is Camila, of course. Or, if she’s being honest, the werewolf’s costume. Being a full-shifted wolf, the variety for Camila’s costume is considerably low.

 

But now, looking at the same blood red leash and collar that does a stark contrast against Camila’s dark brown fur, Lauren feels an unexplainable rush that ends between her legs, jolting her legs forward until she’s in front of the wolf, almost heady with the feeling of watching the wolf’s eyes turn red, not shifting back to its usual warm brown.

 

Solidified by the night and their costumes, Lauren thinks an entire new dynamic just opened up for the both of them.

 

(She faintly hears Dinah high-five herself in the background, chanting _Operation Red is a go_.)

 

Her hands trace along the leash, grasping it on one hand and _tugging_.

 

Camila growls lowly, eyes still a dangerous red, but follows Lauren when the human walks. There’s something exhilarating about the fact that Camila’s body is an ancient being, driven by instincts, and can _maul_ Lauren anytime she wished and yet with a simple _tug_ , Lauren feels the catch in the wolf’s flesh, Camila going pliant and at her command.

 

Lauren’s delighted when Camila doesn’t walk beside her like the wolf usually does, this time opting to stay a few paces behind the human. No one can blame Lauren when she puts an extra skip in her steps, _knowing_ her minuscule skirt does nothing to hide the matching black silk she has under.

 

Lots of people whistle at Lauren but backs down as soon as Camila growls at them, pulling back when Lauren tugs at her leash and a knowing smirk on the human’s lips.

 

Ally’s long gone, staying behind five houses down when they served a particularly mouth-watering pumpkin flavored brownies that the eldest _needs to have the recipe_. So when the four of them reached a frat-house-turned-haunted-house near the end of the street, Lauren doesn’t hesitate to shove a crumpled twenty into a sleazy guy’s pumpkin bucket, earning a creepy smirk when Camila strolled in behind her, leash and all.

 

The lights inside were the fancy ones Lauren sees some club use for black light parties and an array of footprint paint splatter and dripping arrows on the walls illuminated the place, the occasional doll with paint splashed on it making it’s predictable appearance. Lauren hears a few people upstairs so she drags Camila there, an arrow pointing into a room that obviously mimics Walking Dead’s famous _don’t open, dead inside_ door decor.

 

A giant heart shaped paint splatter of red sits at the middle of the floor with a few scattered candles—LED and battery operated, Lauren notes, worrying about the possibility of a fire hazard—and a rowdy scream of _have fun_ is the only warning they had before Camila’s ears perked up at the sound of footsteps running at the hallway and then the sound of a lock turning.

 

They were locked in.

 

A card slipped through under the door, _Theta Phi Gamma’s Haunted House Special Service: 30 Minutes in Hell’s Paradise (please pay an additional fee of $10—half of the proceeds will go to the cleaner’s bill for cleaning up this house and the other half to the donation box at the nearest McDonald’s register)_.

 

“Charming,” Lauren shows the card to Camila, the wolf huffing out a laugh, before settling her torso against Lauren’s leg, red eyes staring up at her in permission. “I think that’s enough role-playing for one night, Camz.” Lauren loosens her grip on the leash, tugging the collar on Camila’s neck until it drops to the floor with a _thump_. Lauren goes to pick up the two items, putting it inside the weaved basket Ally insisted that completes her costume. “Doesn’t mean I won’t use it again in the future, though.”

 

Winking at the wolf, Lauren sinks to the floor the same time Camila’s eyes turns back to its usual dark brown, no longer gleaming in the dark. Camila growls at her, shoving her snout up against the side of Lauren’s neck, relishing her freedom to touch the human that she’s been deprived off of earlier.

 

Lauren reaches a hand up, playing with the fur on Camila’s nape, feeling the wolf sink deeper against her chest, feeling the vibrations of Camila’s purr from her chest all the way down to her toes.

 

She doesn’t know how long they’ve stayed like that, leaning against the wall and against each other, until Camila’s ear perk up and the unmistakable sound of the sleaze guy’s voice from earlier floats from the other side of the door.

 

“Miss? I don’t know what you’re doing in there but your thirty minutes are up, like, an hour ago. We’re charging you triple for this, you know?”

 

//

 

It’s the middle of November, meaning Camila’s at the peak of her rut and as much as every fiber of her wolf growls at the thought of Lauren going outside tonight by herself—with her _siblings_ , the rational part of Camila’s brain reminds her—the human pushed her inside her house with a promise of _I’ll come back here after, if that’s what you want_.

 

So Camila burns off the excess buzzing energy crawling up her skin at the thought of Lauren being away from her, shifting and pulling on the discarded hoodie Lauren draped on the back of the couch that smells a whole lot like the human. She also washed the dishes, cleaned the whole bungalow, put new feed on the bird feeder on her back porch, worked out for an hour and after seeing that it’s only 10PM, she turns back to her home gym for another hour.

 

No one can blame her when she passed out on the couch with her still-wet-from-the-shower hair a little after 11PM.

 

There’s a faint humming at the back of Camila’s skull, her drowsiness muddling her brain and it’s too late before she fully registered three humans barging inside her home, one of which is Lauren.

 

A very _drunk_ Lauren.

 

“I’m home!” Lauren attempts at singing the words, falling against the couch, still warm from where Camila was sleeping against it.

 

“What the—“ Camila’s words were cut off as soon as the two strangers stick their hands out in greeting.

 

“Chris and Taylor Jauregui, siblings of this embarrassing drunk,” the guy— _Chris_ —introduces, Camila shaking their hands firmly before standing to her full height.

 

“Wow, now we get why Lauren kept telling us to bring her here and not back at her flat. I’m assuming you’re Camila? The girlfriend, right?” Taylor says, a few inches taller than Camila.

 

“I—“

 

“Well, it’s nice meeting you and I’m sure our dear old sister would like us to meet at a completely different scenario and it’s also late so it’s best if we head out soon.” The words tumble out of Chris’ mouth, not giving a chance to catch his breath as he ushers his younger sister outside. “We’ll meet you soon, Camila. She’s your problem now, have fun!”

 

Camila wants to wring out her hair from how she contributes a whole three words to the entire conversation. _Being a chatterbox must run in the family_ , she thinks.

 

Lauren seems passed out on the couch, and if it were not for Camila’s heightened hearing, she wouldn’t have noticed the infinitesimal and quiet breathing Lauren has.

 

Until the human’s eyes opens, panicked, and the sudden smell of rising bile reaches Camila’s nose. She heaves Lauren up carefully but swiftly, carrying the human towards the en suite bathroom inside her bedroom. Pulling her hair back, Camila watches as Lauren retches up what seems like very little dinner and a whole lot of the whole bar’s cocktail selection.

 

“Jesus, Lo,” Camila coos, stroking the human’s forehead as Lauren rests her head against the toilet seat. “Just how much did you drink?”

 

Lauren lifts her head, as if noticing Camila’s presence just now and—

 

“You’re like,” Lauren starts, squinting at Camila and the wolf shifts on the balls of her feet, wetting her lips as Lauren’s drunk and tired eyes roam about her face. “You look like someone I see in a magazine, holy shit.”

 

Camila feels heat rise up her cheeks, murmuring a quiet _thanks_ as Lauren continues to compliment-slash-vomit her whole stomach away simultaneously.

 

So that’s kind of adorable.

 

But also kind of gross.

 

And Camila thinks she’ll be fine with Lauren’s adorable, gross self.

 

“Come on,” Camila says, tugging Lauren to the sink and making her use the mouth wash, trying to teach Lauren how to aim her spit into the sink and not onto her hands because _no, Lo, those are not bubbles_. “Let’s get you to bed, drunky.”

 

Lauren leans her head back against Camila’s shoulder, nuzzling the soft skin of her neck, murmuring _Camziii_ in various tones of high-pitched droning.

 

Camila thinks she should be scared, with Lauren seeing her shifted even after months of begging, just to see Camila through a drunken haze. But when Lauren looks at her—buried in blankets that smell like them and Camila’s clothes—as if she’s memorizing every curve and slope of Camila’s face, she wonders why the hell was she scared before.

 

//

 

“Fuck,” Lauren moans, her hands coming up to her hair as she yanks it, feeling the pressure building inside of her.

 

She groans, trying to sit up against the pillows and watching the sunlight filter through the windows. _Huh, glad to know my drunk self still managed to come home to Camila_. There’s a smell of bacon wafting through the open door of the bedroom, the smell calling to Lauren’s hungover ass as she tries to down the pill and water on the bedside table.

 

Turns out that there’s a breakfast nook just outside the sliding door beside the massive den, Lauren spotting Camila’s fur as the wolf lounges on a bench, the sunlight hitting the fur and making the color lighter than it seems.

 

“Good morning,” Lauren says, noting how Camila just lifts an ear and not much else, eyes closed and soaking up the sunlight. “Remind me to not drink again, especially with my siblings. Damn, I’m losing my touch.” Lauren grumbles under her breath, drooling at the sight of the warm breakfast in front of her. She gives Camila a head pat, smiling at the wolf with a forkful of bacon.

 

“I think I completely blacked out last night. I don’t remember anything after the second bar.” Lauren stops chewing, looking at Camila directly. “Did Chris and Taylor bring me here last night?” She waits for the nod Camila gives her, the wolf’s tail swishing against the hardwood floor against every pass. “I must’ve been a mess, huh? You’ll meet them soon, I swear, they’ll come by the next weekend, I think,” Lauren says around a mouthful.

 

There’s something magical in this morning, the way the light reflects back from Camila’s eyes and making her look happier than usual.

 

Before Lauren knows it, she’s cleared the entire plate and spouting her entire monologue about liking how Camila’s home is at the heart of the preserve, the trees doing it’s best to protect it from sunlight and the chilly breeze. How she loves the nature but is a daughter of the moon.

 

“There’s just something about the moon, you know? Like you can tell her all your secrets and she’ll whisper it in the dreams of who you’re thinking about,” Lauren says, looking at the tree tops overhead that shimmers with morning dew and sunlight.

 

“Wolves worship the moon,” a raspy voice sent a shiver down Lauren’s spine and she thinks she couldn’t turn her head quickly enough. There’s a woman in the place of the wolf earlier, all pointy nose and a small smile, dark brown hair and coffee-colored eyes— _Camila_. “The moon lights our way in the dark, we howl at her and hear our family howl back, helping us find each other.” Camila continues and Lauren can’t stop looking at how her mouth moves, hanging on to each word. “The moon helped me find you. During the run, when I found you drunk in the streets, when I got hungry enough to go to the nearest grocery store, only to find you a few aisles away, looking adorable while buying bread.”

 

Lauren laughs, watches the way Camila’s eyes follows the happiness dancing on her face. “You watched me buy bread?”

 

The small smile on Camila’s lips erupts into a shy but pleased grin. “You’re beautiful and I’m nervous to talk to you, what can I do?” She shrugs, Lauren’s eyes following the movement until she realizes that Camila’s _naked_. Camila watches a flush rise high in the human’s cheeks when Lauren realized her state of undress. “Lesson number one, Lo,” Camila says, standing up and stretching her body high until she’s positive Lauren’s blush is the darkest shade of red. “, werewolves are confident about our bodies.”

 

Camila winks, strutting inside and giddy with the feeling of Lauren’s eyes stuck to her.

 

//

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we moved houses so i don’t have wifi at the moment so i slammed my head against the keyboard and spat out 8k+ words of an update and CAMZ FINALLY SHIFTED, ur welcome xx as usual, drop me some piping hot prompts and tell me if you liked this chapter!!
> 
> thanks for reading and have a great one xx

**Author's Note:**

> i have a general plot in my head for the direction where this is going (slow burn, domestic camren, smut at the end) stuff like that BUT I AM VERY MUCH OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS and what you want to see unfold. im putting this story in your hands on where you want it to go, honestly.
> 
> so dont get shy on the comments section!!
> 
> you can hit me up with suggestions and prompts at my tumblr: fxbricxted-rexlity
> 
> have a good one!!


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